Moonlight Horizon
by Lady M Harris
Summary: Journey with Rini, the Moon and Earth princess and Super Sailor Moon of the planet Earth, as she tries to distinguish her role as a warrior. An odyssey of epic proportions that will take her into the far distance realms of the galaxy.
1. Destined Deity: The Oracles of Rini

Moonlight Horizon  
A Sailor Moon Love Story: Rini and Elios  
By Lady M. Harris   
  
Author's Notes: This is an entirely new realm for me, Sci-Fi/Romance! Hope you like this beginning. This is strictly a romance! Yes, it really is. It's just set in the future. There is definitely a story to this fanfic and I hope a very intriguing and entertaining one. This story as you will notice is centered around Rini and Elios. Please note, this is NOT an alternate universe, although you might think so. It is very confusing, but isn't that the way I always write? I never give away my plots until the middle or end of the story, you guys should know me by now. Okay, there are very, many excellent stories surrounding Serena and Darien and I wanted to focus for once, on the little girl that no one seems to like. Hopefully, I can change your predisposed disliking for the 'little spore'. In the same tradition as Moonlight Midnight Glory, the story will focus on the future Rini and Elios, encompassing Serena and Darien for those of you who also crave a story on our favorite characters.   
Lady M. Harris   
  
This Wound  
  
Beneath this darkness, sucked into this madness -  
'tis such a bruised and inky sky  
The day - not one better -  
The moments - not one brighter -  
too many times I've cried.  
Deep in this corner -  
losing myself - 'tis my appertaining rage!  
May I baptize you with all my tears?  
This world, all nothing but a stage.  
This Pain, it aches -  
it stabbed me, shaped me -  
Pierced me -  
like the King, too soon -  
My heart, now broken - My words, unspoken -  
I can't articulate - how badly 'tis this wound.  
  
Contributed by Chisa Harris  
  
  
Destined Deity: the Oracles of Rini  
  
Chapter One  
  
3087 The Junketeer Command Ship....  
  
"Lady Serenity, " Ivor said, raising his hand to Rini. He opened his hand and within his palm revealed two, small white pills. In his other hand, he held a glass of water.  
"Thank you, Ivor, " Rini replied, reaching over with a trembling hand and plucked the two pills out his hand. She tilted her head back and popped the two aspirins into her mouth. Taking the offered glass from Ivor, she washed the pills down her throat. She could briefly taste the acrid flavor of the aspirins, even after swallowing the fresh, luke-warm water.  
"Bad dreams, again?" He asked sitting down next to her on the bed. He watched her silently in the semi-darkness of their cabin.  
She nodded her head, wiping away her sweat-drenched, pink hair from her forehead. "They plague my family," she mumbled quietly, staring out of her large window and into the bright, winking stars. The Junketeer was stationed in a large galaxy called Assortama. If she wanted to look down out of her window, she would see the planet Cerus located in a neutral zone of the Assortama's galaxy. The planet was huge with an orangish surface, splotches of blue here and there indicating where the water was located on the planet. Another planet was situated behind Cerus; its size was much larger and denser. It was adequately named Paradise. The name pertaining to the large bodies of clear, blue water, warm climate and lush, tropical surrounding lands.  
"Yes, I know," he said quietly and smiled reassuringly at her.  
Rini sighed; staring down at her crumpled sheets still tangled around her body. She was in her usual sleeping gear, white tank top and a white tong. Lately however, she had taken a liking to sleeping in the nude. She didn't understand why she had started sleeping in the nude. She just did. The sleeping attire was not recommended on the ship. Considering, they were on a hostile mission, she thought as she recalled the reason why she was stationed on the Junketeer. You had to be ready to spring into action a moment's notice....  
Even after being on the command ship for over nine months, she still had to get used to Ivor and the Junketeer. She thought back to when she had been assigned to serve for a year on the Junketeer. She had thought, like countless other officers before her, that the Junketeer was supposed to be a shoddy command ship. That was what the name implied. However, it was quite the opposite. The Junketeer Command Ship had been sorely built for the purpose of transporting high-ranking officials and large corporation's executive officers. It was a command ship built with the most sophisticated, intelligent and advance technology available to mankind. The designers had aerodynamically built her to be fast and sleek-looking. But, its main function was that of a command ship, yet it could also impressively function as starship or warship. There were only two other ships built the same way in their western sector. The other two command ships were still back at home. This one, as well as over fifty warships on a warship carrier, had been sent forward in hopes of neutralizing a hostile situation taking place between two, large ruling nations outside of the Milkyway galaxy. The two feuding planets were neighbors, Cerus and Paradise.  
Rini winced as she thought back for the hundredth time, her confrontation with her mother and father. Rini, despite being surrounded by the Sailor Warriors, her very own Sailor Warriors and her mother and father's ruling thumb, felt as if she was being stifled and confined. Oh, she had had the very best tutors, beautiful clothing and luxury items surrounding her day in and day out. She also knew she had a terrible temper and was very spoiled. That much was evident by her lack of friends. However, much of it had to do with how protected and guarded she was during her years at the Crystal Palace. Even though she had finished her Warrior training years ago, she still felt as if she could not compare to her mother's fighting and leadership ability. Sailor Moon was a Legend. And Neo-Queen Serenity and her king, The Lavender King, Endymoin, who was also known as Darien, was another modern Legend. How can you compare to that, Rini thought to herself?  
Technology now governed most of Earth's ruling nations. Her mother and father ruled the Oriental nations, along side with the nations leaders of the European countries and the Northern and Southern Americas, which also included many of the other smaller nations. When technology could not overcome obstacles in their path, there was an unspoken truce between the nations to turn to her mother and her father's power. This was a known fact between the nation leaders and all the people who lived on Earth. It wasn't an easy truce, for mankind did not like to leave the fates of human lives up to magic. However, the nation leaders had conceded and acknowledged the awesome powers the Golden and Silver Imperium Crystal could yield.  
Rini had left home and everything that was precious to her, a little over a year ago. There were countless arguments between her parents and her. Darien and Serena objected harshly to their only daughter wanting to join the Union Nations Fleet. She was royalty and was needed at home. Besides, it just wasn't done, her mother had protested loudly. Officers training, Rini could remember hearing her mother snorting loudly. What's wrong with the Warrior training you received earlier, Serena had commented? It's not the same mother, Rini had nearly cried out in frustration. Throwing her nose up the air in the matter of an aristocrat, she then promptly decided to ignore her mother's outbursts of frustration. She remembered thinking that she had to go out on her own and make something of her self, without always being overshadowed by her mother.  
Rini had known also, that there was trouble in her parents' perfect world. Although, they bickered constantly, it was usually kept behind closed doors. Some of the louder quarrels had leaked through to her chambers. She had listened shamelessly, like an eavesdropper over her father telling Serena to quit being insecure over their relationship. Apparently, her mother believed that her father was spending entirely too much time in the company of Lady Alicia Woodward. She happened to hold a very, large influence over Tokyo's financial commerce, her father had argued back. There are other lovely ladies, I have seen you discreetly gaze at with other than friendliness in your eyes, her mother had quietly commented back. If I had not been the Legendary Sailor Moon, would our precarious paths crossed and entwined as that of true lovers? Would you have loved me then? For who and what I was, not as Sailor Moon, but as an ordinary girl, her mother had criticized.   
However, Rini had heard the rumbling rumors circulating around Crystal Tokyo. Those of her father, on the certain arms of a worldly lady of beauty and sensual charms, when her mother was not about in Tokyo. Of the time, in the commerce meetings and social outings where those present often noted her father's dark head, bent closely to that of Lady Alicia's sleek, golden head. Often their seemed to be an air of intimacy between her father and Lady Alicia, as if they shared a certain private joke that only they had privy to. Rini definitely didn't like what she was hearing of Lady Alicia, whom reportedly was a wealthy and beautiful woman, on the look out for a new lover. She had the same feeling that her mother had heard of those rumors as well.  
It was Serena, her mother, who finally accepted the fact that no matter how much they argued with Rini, that for once their daughter was standing her ground.  
Her Sailor Warriors, the Asteroid Warriors were shocked of course, over Rini's apparent leaving for a military training and serving in the nations star fleet. They had snickered and protested like the dainty ladies they were and made fun of her, but it was all in good nature. Her father, Darien didn't speak to her until the very day she left. It was then, when Serena stood on the docks quietly sobbing away, did her father finally break down and told her to make them proud of her.  
It was her father's encouraging words that kept her from quitting when she wanted nothing more than to pack up her things and return home, in the preceding months to follow. Her officer's training had been the hardest, most hellish and yet, most satisfying goal for her to achieve. The days had come and gone, seemingly to blend into weeks and then into months. There were times when the physical training had been almost too much for her to bear. She remembered briefly, where it seemed as if she did not think or feel. She didn't want to remember those times of just trying to sustain her own life. Only the physical aspect of breathing, the mediocre drudgery of placing one foot in front of another, kept her going. She recalled so many countless times of wanting to quit. Home, where her lovely, soft bed, beckoned her with open arms. Home, where her mother and father would have loved nothing better than to tell her that they had been right all along. She knew she not would be able to live with such shame. Her, Small Lady returning home, like a canine with its tail between its legs. There were times, where she was taunted, teased and harassed by her superiors, colleagues and trainees such herself because she was royalty and that she wasn't fit to be among them. She knew that that was part of the training and yet, it had hurt. But it also made her want-no, made her push herself harder than she had ever thought was possible. Oh, she had heard and endured all the names she'd been called during her training-Snow White, the Princess, Queenie, Royalty, Cinderella, The Bunny Rabbit and countless others. In the end, she had proved to them and most importantly had proved to herself that she was made up tougher things than sugar and spice and everything that was nicely associated with fine ladies of royalty. She had won the respect of many of her colleagues and superiors after accomplishing her training and graduating as one of the top officers in their class.  
The respect that she had so furiously fought for, almost all came to a screeching halt a month later after training. Two other colleagues were transferred to the same ship as herself. One of the two colleagues, Jason, had snidely remarked to her on his amazement that she was transferred to the Junketeer.   
Jason was a tall, but lanky young fellow with brown eyes and sandy brown hair. He was often blunt and straight to point with his comments. He didn't believe in proper etiquette or in conservative words. Those were for 'the birds', as he was often heard quoting. He often put up a front as being worldly, even though he had never even been in space until he went into training.   
Rini had blinked innocently at him; her lovely, red eyes puzzled over his sudden contempt. At the time, they were in the small transporter ship, on their way to the Junketeer.  
For a moment, Jason was confounded as he stared back at Rini. He had never taken the time to more than glance over at the Rabbit. In her officer's training uniform, Rini was a regally statuesque and almost robustly, voluptuous woman. Her legs, which were incased in the standard officer's uniform, form-fitting, black pants and high, polished black boots; were incredibly long and shapely.   
The height, apparently was inherited by her handsome father and her perfect, eight figure from the famous, Neo-Queen Serenity. The Neo-Queen was reportedly a graceful and breath-taking beauty.   
Rini's chest, as he remembered from countless times in the gym, was very full and upright. Although, it was hard to tell underneath her light, gray double-breasted, jacket. Her hair was an unusual, gleaming, pale pink color. It was done up in her usual style that faintly resembled the shape of rabbit ears. Hence, her nickname: the Rabbit. The rest of the length was braided and tied back with a matching black bow. He had wondered briefly about her hair and eyes, and if it anything to do with her parents being as powerful as they were. Perhaps, that was why they had produced such an unusual and sensuous-looking daughter. However, unlike the other women in their training division, who arbitrarily cut their long hair so that their hair did not hinder their training. Rini, on the other hand, studiously braided her long hair and pony-tailed the trailing length everyday of training, refusing to have her hair under the shears. Her eyes were also another matter altogether. They were almond and cat-like in their shape. Producing a keen, cunning expression of intelligence, whenever her gaze wandered over you. The color of her eyes was a soft, reddish hue, but they could also be piercing, like shards of gleaming glass.  
Rini had stared back at Jason, wondering at the sudden attitude change over him. The other officer, Tyron had chuckled over Jason's apparent glazed look. Tyron decided then to graciously tell her about the Junketeer Command Ship and her newly assigned companion. Whom she was told, was anonymously given to her. She watched him silently, her glance unconsciously skimming over Tyron's appearance and made her wonder once again, if he had a girlfriend sitting at home waiting for him to return to her.   
Tyron was broad-shouldered and very tall. His body was trim and superb from their recent training. His hair was midnight black, curling slightly at the base of his neck. His eyes were a deep and friendly, emerald green. His gaze was direct and open, ignited with common sense and an intelligence that she suspected was far superior to hers.  
"Your companion-Ivor is how shall I say it?" Tyron had paused, leaning against his chair. "He's what they call an android or a cyborg? An artificial person-or more crudely put, a synthetic," Tyron had said, the laughing humor sparkling in his eyes as he gauged her reaction.  
For a moment, Rini thought she would erupt with boiling anger. Her mother! Her mother was behind this, her mind had screamed to her! The transfer to the Junketeer and then the android being assigned to her to attend her every waking need. Androids were assigned to the commanders of the nations' fleet, royalty and to the very rich. Or only those who could afford them. It was true that she was royalty, but she was trying to make a name for herself and earn respect for who she was. She did not want to earn her name for the money or the power of royalty behind her namesake.   
"So you say...?" She had replied nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders at the same time, with her composure back in place. Androids were prominent among the very rich. She had heard of them, but they were not a standard at home. Her mother and father did not care to have their human servants replaced with androids, even if they were more efficient. However, she had heard that it was common practice among the rich in America and in the European countries.  
"You're so-cold about it, Rini," Tyron had chuckled again, his fingers playing with the monitor buttons to the left of him.  
"Have you had one before?" Jason asked, curiously and crassly. His eyes followed the swing of her shapely leg crossing over her thigh, suddenly wondering what it would feel like to her legs wrapped around his hips. He caught Tyron's discerning eye and cooled his ardor.  
"Of course not, you idiot. Is that all you men can think of?" Rini said disdainfully as she frowned fiercely at him and Tyron. Disapproval marred her lovely brow as she continued to gaze at her colleagues.  
Tyron laughed softly, while Jason spluttered, his face beat red.  
  
"Well, they say that an cyborg's sexual programming is far more superior than any man," Jason added, if a little sullenly.  
  
"I wouldn't know, since my parents forbid them in the palace," Rini replied, her features suddenly softening at the mention of her parents. She sighed. She missed them enormously.  
"Well now, you'll get your chance to know what it's like to have one at your beck and call," Tyron added, suddenly just as curious as Jason. He looked sideways at Rini as she chewed her full lip, still in consternation. She was in his opinion, the epitome of what a woman should look like and be. She was achingly, impossibly lovely to gaze upon. There was many times, where he would stop whatever he was doing, sit leisurely back and gaze her striking beauty. Of course, he'd never tell her that in a million years. She was way too classy for him. Despite what many of his colleagues had said about her in the beginning of training, him and many others in their division had been dually impressed with the princess. She had earned her right to wear that uniform. Not only that, she made it look good; he chortled inwardly to himself, admiring her shapely form.  
"Oh, you mean the little princess couldn't have everything she wanted, now?" Jason teased and cajoled to her in a whiney voice. Tyron erupted into guffaws of boisterous laughter.  
"Five minutes until boarding! Please return to your seats and fasten your seats belt." The computer announced to them on the monitor in a neutral voice.  
"Shut up, you brat!" Rini shouted back to Jason, laughing along and enjoyed the teasing as she swapped Jason hard on the arm....   
Ivor turned out to be an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Despite her reservations and anger towards her mother, she secretly enjoyed Ivor's services. To her, he looked like an ordinary human being.   
Rini had designated his looks to please her. That had been the fun part. Ivor was well over six feet tall, broad-shouldered and sinew. His hair was inky black and incrediably long, reaching his mid shoulders and silky to the touch. It parted in the middle, reminding her of Earth's ancient Indians. His eyes were smoky gray, matching his sun bronze skin, nicely. A tiny chip was embedded at the base of her neck so that Ivor was aware of her every waking thought and need. She did not particular care for the fact that Ivor had access to her deepest and most, darkest secrets.   
Ivor didn't understand her dormant powers. His programming couldn't logically place her powers as a logical process. He understood that it was there, hovering in the background. However, the comprehending her powers was another matter all together.  
One evening, Ivor discovered one of her dark secrets. She had returned to their cabin, tired and frustrated over arguing with her superior over the numbers that were appearing on their scanning system. In the course of the day, she had overheard from some of her rich and superior, female officers engaging in outrageous, sexual acts with their male androids. Rini's curiosity finally got the better of her and she momentarily indulged in a what if...scenario situation with her own cyborg.   
Ivor however, normally accessing her thoughts, intercepted her musings to eagerly please his assigned companion. Rini had stood paralyzed with sudden heated desire as Ivor wrapped his muscular arms around her waist. He then proceeded to gently touch and mold her breasts to fit into his hands. Whispering to her about what pleasures they could attain together as one and that he had invisible receptors that would attach to her vagina walls, to easily gauge her reactions and for him to better pleasure her. Licking her suddenly parched lips, her imagination firing crazily over what Ivor had so succinctly described. Her heartbeat accelerated rapidly, Rini was sorely tempted to give in as she felt Ivor's member harden against her buttocks. She couldn't remember a time, when a man had touched her like this and yet, a cyborg nearly made her insides explode. Closing her eyes, her full, bow-like mouth parting in tiny heated breaths, she let his hands wander slowly over her breasts, stomach and finally over her curly mound. When his fingers reached in to delve into her womanhood, she finally decided to halt his fingers.   
She over rode and disabled his sexual programming. Password protecting it by digitized, synthetic voice recognition and DNA finger imprinting, so that only she could reactivate it. Ivor had chuckled as she worked on disabling that particular programming. She had grinned along, good naturally, but explicitly told him that she wouldn't allow it continue. She had told Ivor that she knew she'd become addicted to what he could offer. How would I come to appreciate a human male, she had told him. He boldly stated to her, that she didn't have to, that he could be everything she needed and wanted. Then he nodded his head and told her that he understood what she wanted as he accessed her thoughts. Besides, she had said giggling as she blushed becomingly; I'm going to break the record on this ship, by being the oldest, living virgin. Ivor had laughed heartily along with her.  
"Come here," Ivor said in the darkness of their cabin.  
Instantly, Rini came into Ivor's arms. Sitting comfortably on his pajama lap, she laid her weary head on his naked chest, sighing at the same time as Ivor's arms wrapped around her. It was times like this where she wished she had a significant other half to share in her thoughts.  
"Is it the same one, again?" He asked, reaching one hand up to push back her sweat drenched hair.   
She nodded her head; "It's always the same. I see home, but it's not home. The palace was always so warm and filled with happy people. Yet, it's empty and cold in my nightmare. And my father's face, it's so hard. He's standing in our hallway looking so forlorn as he stares at my mother's and his bedroom. And then, I see the faces of a man. They're two different faces, but they're both the same person. And I've seen him before, but I can't recall where. I know him! I know I do. And then a darkness comes over me. A deep and frightening darkness fills me. It's so huge, it's almost suffocates me with this weight of darkness and this man-he's so handsome! He's somehow connected to this darkness," she mumbled into his chest, shuddering as she recalls the dream.  
"This has to do with your powers, Rini," Ivor stated matter factually.  
Rini lifted her head and looked up at Ivor, chewing her lip, thoughtfully. "I thought you didn't believe in my heritage or in my powers," she asked looking at him, balefully.  
"Something's there and deep inside of you. I'm aware of it, but my programming doesn't comprehend it. Although, I suspect it's somehow that power of yours. And it seems to be increasing. Or something to that affect," Ivor said shrugging his shoulders at the same time.  
Rini closed her eyes and let Ivor's hand continue to rub her back as she pondered his words. The combination of his warmth and the strength that flowed from his hands was like a sleeping balm. After a while, she became calm and sleepy again. She sighed once more, snuggled deeply into his embrace and dropped back into a deep and this time, a dreamless sleep.  
"First Lieutenant Shields, Lieutenant Colonel Sargento needs your assistance on the main deck," Captain Tang said as he came over to where she sat at her tiny cubicle desk and was busy scribbling away on her reports. He pulled out his digital clipboard that contained a listing of her assignments.  
Rini nearly dropped her pen. She jumped up from her sitting position and saluted the high-ranking officer as she listened silently to her assignment. Her fingers shook as she held it up to her forehead, but she quickly steadied her fingers. Her eyes grew wide with excitement. She could tell that Captain Tang was barely able to contain his mirth and a slight admiration towards her, which was evident in his facial expression. He knew how she burned with a certain eager passion to work on the main deck as a navigator. He had told her that it was rare to find ambition like hers in these modern days. The main deck, she thought with near elation! She had only been on the main deck twice, since her arrival on the ship. Her goal was to help navigate the command ship or any other ship, for that matter.  
The fact that one of the Lieutenant Colonels had requested her help was incredible. Considering how many other higher-ranking Lieutenant Navigators was on this ship; it was a miracle that she was chosen to assist on the main deck. She nearly flew out of the communications deck, her head somewhere in the clouds.  
She arrived on the main deck as was told to report to the main docking deck. When she arrived on the docking deck, she was briefed again by another captain on what her duties entailed.   
Rini met another Navigator, this time from another branch of the Union Nations Fleet. Captain Schwartz of the Navy division was a veteran on the Junketeer and a long time Navigator. She was a tall and elegant woman with short blonde hair and sharp, blue eyes. Schwartz smiled a greeting from the navigating seat as Rini stepped into the small, cockpit.  
Apparently, Rini had been called in for the important mission, due to one of the Navigators being sick. Some of the more higher rank Navigators were already on important assignments and unavailable. Rini had been called in based on her experience and reputation during training on flying small, transporter ships and transporting material goods.  
"So Shields, have you heard about our cargo?" Schwartz began after Rini was strapped in. They began simoutinously checking their instruments and scanning equipment.  
Rini shook her head negatively. "No, I was told it was standard operation," Rini frowned, looking over at the older woman.  
"They usually do that to newbies," she smiled, winking at the same time. "We'll be transporting human and non-human cargo. Two important ambassadors and delegates from the planet, Paradise are returning back to their planet and two of our ambassadors are returning to their planet to join our other negotiators already there," Schwartz lowered her voice to a whisper as their cargo began loading into the ship.   
Rini glanced over her shoulder and behind her, noticing the guards entering into the loading bay.   
"They're returning from touring our main deck and some of the other parts of the Junketeer. They don't say much, but my God, they're a sight to behold; " Schwartz continued whispering as Rini leaned in closer to better hear her.   
"What do you mean-" Rini asked, her question trailing away as she glanced again over her shoulders as the remaining crew and guests arrived. Her reddish, hue eyes grew as wide as cup saucers as they settled on the two, non-human guests. Her mouth dropped open in astounded astonishment. "Holy shit! Are those real?" She burst out, unladylike as she stared at the first Angian and what was behind him.   
The first Angian, a male, was immensely tall and broad-shouldered. His hair was long, the color of warm chestnuts. Rini's eyes however, were glued to his wings, behind him. They were the same color as his hair and nearly twice the size of him! It was amazing, to the least, that he could even fit into the loading bay as his wings trailed on the ground. She had heard about the Angians touring their ship, but she never thought that she would actually get to see one.  
Of course, she had seen wings on her mother and her mother's Sailor Warriors, but they were nothing in comparison to these!  
"As real as they come. Angians are supposedly like pure angels, with their wings and all. But that one-" Schwartz chortled silently and nodded towards the last ambassador as he entered the main bay.   
He stood nearly a head taller the other Angian and reminded Rini of a gloriously, beautiful painting that she once seen at the Le Louvre in Paris, France. The golden mane of his hair was long, reaching to the middle of his back, the shimmering strands reminding her of pure, spun liquid silk. There were wisps of trailing, golden hair surrounding his beautiful face. Atop his head, a small, golden horn graced his head. It was unusual, considering the other Angian didn't have a horn. His face was all angles, ridges and breath-taking beyond belief. From his riveting gaze, Rini could make out his eyes like hard marbles and their color like the turbulent, lapis blue of the ocean and framed by sooty lashes and high, thick but dark, arched eyebrows. Full lips, that seemed to almost sneer at her, were thinned at the moment. The rest of him was as magnificent and as awe-inspiring as his face. Sinew and muscle and soft, leather-like material graced this perfection of a non-human, male specimen. His skin was like the color of burnished, golden bronze. Even his wings were spectacular in color and size. The feathers looked to be of the softest and purest white in their color, that it was almost blinding to gaze at. His wings although they were folded protectively against his body, also trailed on the ground of the loading bay.  
Both Angians wore similar clothing that looked like soft leather. Rini had a feeling that it wasn't real leather, as who would tramp around on a humid, hot planet in real leather? The first one was wearing the color of beige and tan and the last one was wearing the color of autumn brown. Form fitting pants and boots clothed the lower half of their bodies. Vests covered their chest, leaving their muscular arms and chest bare.   
"The first one is a delegate for Paradise, I can't recall his name off the top of my head. The other one...the last one...he goes by the name of Ambassador Elios," Schwartz continued, watching Rini and Elios as their eyes played tug of war. "He's what they call an 'Archangel', one the most powerful and one of the most beautiful angels on Paradise. Pure, they say. Looks downright wicked, if you ask me." Schwartz cackled as she watched Rini closely, who continued to hold the angel's gaze.  
"He's magnificent," she whispered back hoarsely, after she finally broke free of the angel's mesmerizing gaze. She shivered delicately, the goose bumps raising the hairs on the back of her arms. And yeah, his gaze seemed anything but pure. It was downright contemptible.  
Once everyone was comfortably seated and secured, they immediately launched off the landing dock. Rini returned her concentration on the coordinates of Paradise and assisting Schwartz with navigating the transporter ship. At first, she was slightly apprehensive working with a very experience navigator, but once they lifted off, Schwartz professionally and smoothly eased any fears Rini might have had flying with her. Instinct and an in-born love of navigating took over Rini's thought processes and they glided easily out of the Junketeers landing dock.  
In space, they glided smoothly towards Paradise's atmosphere. The ride would only take approximately twenty minutes in space and a couple minutes to land on the mainland of Paradise. The main city and capital of Paradise, named Elysium consisted of a small population of no more than several hundred inhabitants. They were four, other smaller and similar towns. Three centuries earlier, a group of colonists made up mostly of genetic scientists and bio-atmospherist scientists colonized Paradise. The first century consisted of scientists preparing the atmosphere to be breathable to humans, while the last couple of centuries engineered the 'Angels' as guardians of Paradise and generally populated the planet.   
Inexplicably, the first generations of almost all of the genetic engineers died, due to some unknown virus that circulated the planet and nearly killed off entire populations of scientists and the people living on Paradise. Paradise was also known to have Cycles. Certain parts of the planet used an undetectable barrier that allowed no entry or leave way in certain parts of the planet. Life was sustained based on what it already contained in that certain area of habitant. Cycles were known to last a couple of hours to perhaps decades or centuries. They really had no idea what was the longest Cycle. At first, the first generations of colonists had no idea where or when the Cycle or Cycles took place. However, now there were points of observation where the Cycle was known to close off a barrier to outsiders. Of course, the city and towns were built outside of these points now. For some unknown reason, the Cycle was also known to shift in its area of barriers. However, this was not often.  
There is still some controversy as to why Angels were created. It was a well-known fact that while some of the second century genetic scientists were isolated by the Cycle, they created the Angels as a way to detect a Cycle and its changes. Why they engineers created the Angels was contributed to a husband and wife genetic engineer team. Dr. Angelica had a preference for Angels and their pure qualities and serving a selfish need for herself, while her husband liked the idea of having a guardian of sorts, that could detect a Cycle and a Cycle change.   
Angels are considered by many as perfect, super species of human ancestry. They are also no more than thirty living Angels known to Paradise. They can withstand very cold temperatures, while regulating their own blood as normal. This is especially handy for them, while they're airborne. They prefer living in the high caverns of Paradise, where temperatures are far cooler in the mountains as opposed to Paradise's normal, humid and warm temperatures inland. Their wings are the equivalent of another pair of arms with an unknown amount of strength. They are capable of carrying their own weight as well as carrying another person, without hampering their speed of flight. Angels are known mostly to congregate among themselves as certain clans. They are certainly one of the wealthiest beings on Paradise, their holdings elegantly and expensively furnished. However, sometime during the course of history, their nearly unequal intelligence, grace and eloquent speech and language made them fine ambassadors and delegates for the planet Paradise.   
During the middle of the flight, when everything seemed to be running smoothly, Rini stopped relaying information back to the Junketeer to stare silently back at Schwartz. Her body shook with tiny, nervous shudders.   
"What is---?" Schwartz asked, alarmed as she glanced over at the girl and was cut off just as a loud boom erupted throughout the ship and suddenly throwing the entire ship haywire on its course. Occupants not securely fastened to their seats were thrown against the walls of the hull with a loud thumping and thudding from their bodies being thrown against the walls. Their faces revealing stunned visage or knocked out by the hard hit. Alarms careened loudly throughout the interior and alerting the occupants of a direct hit to the ship and damage the impact had caused.  
Monitors blinked crazily in front of Rini indicating that they had been targeted and attacked by some unknown identity. Her head and body was thrown back against her chair with such a force to clearly knock the wind out of her and barely missed being hit by her emergency breathing equipment that was stored above her head. Forced by instinct to finish relaying information back again to the main ship, she took a quick glance back at Schwartz to make sure that the woman was alright and realized with paralyzed horror that the woman was dead beside her. Her once animated eyes now glassy and unfocused as a stream of bright, red blood trickled down the middle of face.   
Nooooo! Her mind screamed silently back to her. The ship now seemed to have accelerated its speed and moving of its accord, but it shuddered deeply throughout its course. Even above the shouts and rumble of the confusion behind her, everyone seemed to be moving in an unnatural, slow motion play-by-play scenario. As Rini turned her face forward her eyes flew open in surprise and panic as she began screaming back to the Junketeer.  
"What the fuck is this---?!" She screeched above the noise of the ship and into her headset, as the ship suddenly beginning to careen towards the Paradise's atmosphere.  
"Princess!" The deep, resonate of the voice said besides her and feeling large hands grip her stiff shoulders nearly caused her to squawk like a frightened bird. Rini's head snapped sideways and she found her frightened gaze on the Angian called, Elios. His eyes were narrowed and focused hard on her saucer-wide eyes of panic. His mouth was slanted and thinned, his nostrils flaring with hard-won sureness. And in the moment of being close to him, Rini had a split second feeling of having seen his face before now. The moment was gone before she even finished the thought as she stared back at the Angian in numbed silence.  
"We're heading into a Cycle. Brace yourself and focus your power with me, or we won't make it!" Elios shouted above the noise of the ship and its screaming occupants. His hard, blue gaze flashed arrogantly at her and daring her not do otherwise....  
To be continued in chapter two. Lady M. Harris.  
  
  



	2. Heaven Descent

Moonlight Horizon  
A Sailor Moon Sekkushiaru Roman Story  
By Lady M. Harris  
  
Chapter Two  
  
"Lady...?" Came the voice somewhere above her. Rini opened her eyes slowly and heard movement around her. The room before her seemed dark and ancient looking. It looked something like an old fashioned cabin, used as a storage area. The wind howled outside and the building creaked precariously on its old foundation, the window shutters banging off and on continuously, enough to set ones teeth on edge. Water leaked in various sections of the building as it rained steadily outside. She turned her head slowly, ignoring the sounds of outside and focused her eyes on the man sitting next to her. Behind him, a young woman peered anxiously at her.  
  
"She's finally waking," the man said over his shoulder to the woman.  
  
"That's good," came the woman's concerned reply.  
  
"Where am I?" Rini croaked, clearing her voice at the same time. There was something odd about the man and woman sitting next to her, although she couldn't quite place the feeling. She looked around the cabin once more, trying to recall why she was in the cabin and how she got there. The memory surged through her like an exploding cannon ball and she quickly sat up, startling the other two occupants with her swift movements. Her last memory was that of their ship careening wildly out of control towards the planet Paradise. She briefly recalled closing her eyes during the disaster and reaching deep within her to call upon her powers to help the angel guide the ship out the perilous dangers of the Cycle, before passing out.  
  
"Ahhh!" Rini cried out, clutching the back of her head as pain sliced through her neck and up to her head. Her body felt bruised and battered. The sheet that was covering her body slipped down, exposing her upper naked torso.  
  
"Please-lady, you must take it slowly," Bark said with great concern as he tried to ease the young woman back down into the pillows and tried not to stare at the woman's perfect, full, lustrous orbs. He reached over to quickly cover the woman, hoping Marilee couldn't see how red his face was becoming.  
  
"Our ship-it was attacked!" Rini cried out, trying to loosen her arms, but failing as the man struggled to gently push Rini back into the pillows. She had no strength, could feel the stress of fighting ebbing away any fortitude that she claimed and was easily subdued.  
  
"Yes, we know. But you must take it easy, we're here to try and help you," the woman said, her face softening as she noticed the woman's distress from behind the man. She got up from her chair and walked close to the bed as Rini began to calm down.   
"Your ship crashed right off of the shores from here a couple days ago. Luckily, we still have a few working boats here on the island and we were able to fish you, the Angian and another man, whom I was told is a guard from what was left of the ship." The woman said quietly as she noted the expression of horror on the young lady's face. "I'm sorry, but the rest of the crew was dead by the time we arrived." Marilee said shaking her head in sympathy and answering the question that already on the woman's tongue.  
  
"We arrived just in time too, otherwise the Cycle would have finished you off," Bark finished for Marilee, his composure back in place. The young woman's eyes were a fascinating reddish hue as was the color of her luxurious, pale pink hair and Bark was helpless but to continue to stare at her comeliness. He tried again not to think about those lovely breasts he had just merely glimpsed of earlier. "I'm Bark, the chief engineer and doctor of sorts and this here, is Marilee, my apprentice. You're on the island of Hades, closed off from the rest of the world by the Cycle." Bark said sweeping his hand past Marilee and towards the outside door of the cabin.   
  
Rini's eyes followed Bark's hand, but her eyes stayed glued for long moments on the man's hand. He only had three fingers. She quickly glanced at his other hand and realized that his other hand revealed three fingers as well. Her gaze glanced back into his face and she noticed how his eyes narrowed and his mouth thinned slightly.  
  
"It is a natural birth defect that is found commonly here on Hades," Bark replied tersely as he noticed her eyes straying back to his hands. It never bothered him before, since everyone on Hades was imperfect. However, it reminded him why there were on this island and why they choose to stay.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend," Rini offered to Bark, her eyes imploring softly that Bark felt all of the stiffness melt out of him as he gazed back into the woman's pleading eyes. He smiled back at her, nodding hesitantly in acceptance of the apology.  
  
"That's okay, it takes a little getting used to here. You will see a lot of that on Hades, my dear," Marilee interjected, as she watched the exchange. "Those who live on Hades have a birth defect of some kind. Some are very noticeable while others are hidden from the eye. It is rare indeed, to see physical perfection such as yours and the Angian."   
  
"You mentioned an Angian," at their nod, she asked hesitantly, "which one survived?" "The archangel, of course," Bark replied waving his hand again towards the door, then added, "He's the one who saved you. He was knocked out by the crash, but otherwise all right. We found the both of you unconscious, with you protectively cocoon within his wings. The guard suffered broken ribs, a broken leg and sustained some internal bleeding. Unlike you, he hasn't come to, yet."  
  
Rini let out a small breath of relief and the woman Marilee, smiled in response. Rini blushed, wondering why it was so important that the archangel Elios should survive the crash as opposed to the other Angian. She felt a stab of guilt rush through her at the thought. Then another thought struck her, and forgetting her guilt, blurted out, "Where is the archangel?"  
  
"Some of the town people and him are preparing the old abandon caverns in the mountain for you and him and eventually the guard to stay in. Especially since there is no room here," Marilee stated, walking over to the cabinet to pull out some clothing. "They should be finished soon, and now that you're awake you should probably put some cloths on. The place won't be luxurious, but it least it'll be decent" Marilee said as she pulled an old dress out of a neat pile of folded clothes. She glanced askance at Bark, not missing how Bark's gaze strayed impulsively towards the young woman's bosom from time to time. "And with time, you may even return it to its former glory". She added softly, hoping that the girl would catch on to the meaning.  
  
Marilee could not fault the girl, as the woman did not know Bark. She hadn't missed the shocked visage that came over Bark's face when he glimpsed the young woman's body shortly after the townspeople and him brought the survivors into the medical bay. His eyes had made a thorough sweep of the girl's body-Rini was her name, as they stripped her of her clothing to find out if anything was grievously wrong with her. Marilee had felt a twinge of jealousy and dismay at the time, even as she acknowledged the fact that she could never come close to such perfection.   
  
Those who knew and were close to her proclaimed Marilee the most beauteous woman on the tiny island. Her only marring defect was cosmetic and meant nothing to her or to her love, Bark. Birth had laid forth an erroneous lack of outer parts of her ear, leaving in its wake tiny holes for her hearing. Hence her hearing suffered the most and was not as good as most, but it was sufficient enough that it did not hinder her speech or learning process. The defect was hardly noticeable but to the discerning eye as most of her brown locks covered her from her head to her above her waist. It was not looks that attracted her to Bark, as he would often quote, but her fine intelligence to grasp the knowledge he was willing to bestow on his apprentice.  
  
Marilee had promptly stanched the dragon of jealousy as Bark began hastily issuing orders to the men who were carrying the survivors to be extremely careful with their handling. They didn't have to examine the archangel as he came to, shortly after they arrived at the medical building.   
  
However, Bark knew exactly how Marilee felt about him. She wasn't about to let Bark become infatuated with this woman as Marilee already had a deep ingrained sense that the archangel wouldn't allow such a thing. Even though the archangel indicated he barely knew the girl, only that he knew she was a princess from the planet called Earth. He had stayed protectively close to the girl, while they examined the young woman.   
  
Marilee never thought she would see the day when she would be confronted with an Angian, much less an archangel. The Angians did not visit Hades as their island was virtually hidden away by the Cycle and shrouded in mystery. The mystery was the people's doing, as they didn't want any outsiders in their world of imperfection. It was uncommonly hard to predict or penetrate a Cycle around Hades and the people of Hades were fine with that.   
  
Once long ago, an Angian visited their island, and occupied the mountain caverns during her stay. The Angian stated that she would make sure the island would stay as it was. She had kept her promise, as all Angians were known to do. Every two blue moon, something or someone would slip past the Cycle's barrier and never leave the island. The individual was usually welcomed and absorbed into Hades society.  
  
Hades was a reminiscent of a once booming city on a beautiful island during the first century when humans first inhabited the planet. Some of the most prominent genetic scientists conducted their experiments here. Of course, as human nature had tendency towards good, there were those of other less than considerable nature. Secret experiments done in the honor of power and greed were also conducted on Hades, and as secrets were meant to be found out, that is what came to pass with these bad deeds. The results of these experiments were now those who made up Hades. When the rest of the population abandoned Hades due to the Cycle, those who chose to stay were the ones who shunned society's view of perfect humans.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Rini whipped out, her brows creasing her forehead in a worry frown. Not missing the subtle meaning behind the woman's words, Rini stared back at her and then at the man named Bark.  
  
"In a moment," Bark added, frowning back at Marilee as he tried to convey a slower pace of addressing their concerns to their wary invalid. "We'll make everything clear to you," he said.  
  
"First things first, let's get you dressed. Are you thirsty?" Marilee asked coming over and laying the dress on Rini's bed.  
Rini opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it at the mention of something cool and refreshing down her throat.   
"Now that you mention it, yes I am. I would appreciate a glass of water."  
  
"Good. Bark, would you please fetch our guest a glass of water?" Marilee said, her tone of voice broaching no challenge.  
  
"But it's howling like a banshee on a mystic moor outside-" Bark protested. He didn't relish the idea of walking through the slashing rain or torrid gusts of wind. The building's facet was outside on the side of the building. "Blasted water facet," Bark muttered on the side, hoping Marilee couldn't hear him.  
  
"While you're getting the glass of water, Rini can get dressed. Please knock first before coming back in, Bark," Marilee asked, ignoring Bark's outburst even as he waved his hand toward her, indicating that he had heard her. He opened the door cautiously against the winds, only to have the door swing open on its own accord and slamming loudly against the wall. Rain splattered outside of the door, but there was porch on the building and afforded some comfort to Bark as he closed the door behind him.  
  
Rini quickly put the dress on and muffled a dismay at the size of the dress. Its previous owner had obviously been several sizes larger than its new owner. The dress practically floated around her, ballooning in the center and settling at her ankles. However, its neck size was small enough and stayed on Rini comfortably. Marilee stated that the rest of the clothes belonged to same owner and that dress was of the better pick of the lot. She was given some worn shoes, drudged up again from the same cabinet. This time, the shoes fit comfortably and Rini sat back against the bed as Bark knocked loudly on the outside door and walked in without waiting for instructions to be let in.  
  
"There's no way, you're going to make me stand outside any longer, wil'st I freeze my arse off," Bark answered the glowering Marilee as he handed a dripping wet glass full of water to Rini. He shivered slightly, glad to be back in the warmth of the cabin, his body thoroughly soaked from the rains.  
  
Rini quickly gulped down the water and promptly spluttered half of it back out and over Bark as she choked. Although it felt good going down her throat, it was another matter settling on her queasy stomach.  
  
"Slow down! Not too fast!" Marilee shouted, her lips twitching in amusement as Bark jumped back in surprise.  
  
"Ah Christ! I guess it makes no difference, since I'm already wet!" Bark replied in disgust as he began wringing out his clothes on him. "Think it's a good idea to have her and the archangel trying to fly back to the cave in this weather?" He asked Marilee after a moment of silently glaring at Rini's red face.  
  
"The weather isn't supposed to let up for another couple of days and you see the condition this building is in. It won't last for very long and there's no more room in the main medical building," Marilee suggested. She didn't like the idea either of their guests burrowing through the gust of wind and rain.   
  
Yesterday and all day, the archangel and several men from the town had been scurrying about trying to get the caverns decent to inhabit before the storm would hit. It was agreed that two women and one of the lady's husband of the people would stay and help out with some of the mundane chores and helping Rini adjust to living in the caverns for the time being. Eventually, the injured guard would join them until a plan could be thought of breaching through the Cycle.  
The fact was, both Angian and Hadians believed such feat was impossible and would have to relent to fact that the newcomers may be stuck for the rest of their lives on Hades. In short, Marilee doubted Rini knew of their current situation and was glad that she would not be the one to tell the girl.  
  
They didn't have to wait for very long for the arrival of the men coming back from the caverns. Someone banged loudly on the rickety door, startling Rini somewhat with its loudness and interrupting their low discussion about the island Hades.  
Bark hastily opened the door and two men obviously from Hades walked in soaking wet, followed by an equally wet Angian, Elios.   
  
Rini's eyes instantly sought out the angel's gaze, her gaze by passing the other two ordinary men. Her breath slammed into her throat as she was reminded once again of the obvious splendor the angel represented.  
  
"Marilee, Bark," Elios said quietly, his gaze touching them each briefly before he let his eyes roam slowly on the princess' face. "My Lady," he said finally acknowledging Rini last, the sound of his deep baritone voice saying her title was like listening to the caress of a warm and dark wine running smoothly down one's throat.   
  
Rini's eyes once more helplessly traced the outline of his magnificent physic as she was treated to sight of his wet clothes molding to the obvious smooth, muscular structure of his body. Although the rest of him was gleaming wet, his wings looked surprisingly dry as if they repelled the water naturally. She felt her heart accelerate heartily and she found her senses overwhelmed by the sight of the angel and wondered if Marilee was afflicted with the same confounded emotions as she, as she continued her appraisal of the angel.  
  
Quelling the turmoil rising within her, Rini found her voice, "Sir-I don't know how to address you, but 'My Lady,' is a bit formal considering the circumstances-Rini will do just fine," she said, her eyebrow going up in query as to how to address him.  
  
Elios' lips sardonically twitched in the barest hints of a smile, "Elios will do as well-Rini," he tested out her name slowly and liking the sound of her name on his lips as he bowed low to her.   
  
Rini thought her knees would knock in nervousness as he paused slightly upon straightening his bow to narrow the sharp contrast of his deep, blue eyes on her. His gaze lightly touched on her apparel.  
  
"Good Lord, could you have found a larger garment for her?" Elios burst out caustically, after straightening back to his imposing height and causing Rini to stiffen self-consciously, her fingers reaching up to lightly touch the bodice of the used dress. One of the Hades men chuckled as they continued to dry themselves off with the towels that Marilee provided them. Of the younger of the two, who walked with a pronounced limp, smiled at Rini and openly admired her loveliness despite the rag tag clothing on her.  
  
Marilee felt the back of her hairs raise up like a ruffled hen with her egg being snatched out from underneath her, "Ambassador-there was naught else to give her. And it totally slipped my mind to bring an extra change of clothes from my own closet."  
  
"It's just as well," Bark began, "and if my memory serves me right, there are several trunks in the caverns that contain cloths and some clothing that may be of use to you and those who will be staying there. Either way, she'll be soaked to the skin by the time you get there." He finished as he walked over once again to one of the cabinets to pull out a heavy blanket.  
  
"Yes...I recall seeing them and thought nothing to look them over, especially with time being of the utmost importance," Elios summarized, thoughtful.  
  
"Well, perhaps I like my bellowing dress just fine, thank you very much!" Rini bit out sarcastically, glaring at the Angian. How dare he say such things as if he had any say in how she should dress in HIS presence, she thought angrily!  
  
"However charming the view is of your delectable curves, the dress is rather thin and revealing, " Elios stated dryly as his eyes made a final sweep of Rini's form once more. He hadn't missed the tale tell look Bark or the younger Hadian, Broad displayed as they continued to devour the princess' rather shapely silhouette.  
  
Rini felt her face become warm, her blush matching the color of her hair. Her arms reached up to cross over her chest in an act of defense. How dare he look down his autocratic nose at her with a contemptible smirk on his face! That he should mention her curves in a manner that almost intimate, made her shudder with other than a quickening within her lower belly that she didn't quite understand.  
  
"Now that you mention it," Marilee added as she gazed at the dress and how the play of light displayed Rini's figure most revealingly and not missing Bark's sharp interest in the princess again. "It is rather thin, but there's no time to change." Marilee shook her head. She reached over and plucked the blanket out of Bark's arms and placed them around Rini's shoulders. Marilee smiled in understanding as Rini looked up into the woman's face with gratitude.   
  
Despite her disfigurement, Marilee had been ogled over a couple of times in her life and so could well understand what the young woman was feeling. "The cover won't keep you from getting wet in the rain, but it will afford you some protection against the cold winds, " she explained to Rini.  
  
"Thank you, Marilee. We're leaving already?" Rini asked hesitantly, listening to the commotion still going on with Mother Nature outside of the cabin.  
  
"It's probably a good idea, especially since evening approaches soon," Bark answered her as Elios nodded in agreement.   
  
"Although my sense of sight is a little better than the average human, " Elios understated his eyesight, but didn't elaborate, "In the wind and rain, it is far harder to maneuver flight at night," he added.  
  
"You mean you're flying us up there?" Rini asked incredulously as he nodded in acknowledgement, his blue gaze wrinkling with humor. "Why can't we just-" she began than thought better of the question, figuring it out herself.  
None the less, Bark answered her, "Because the elevator has not worked in years and the steps are too slippery, too old and far too many to trudge up to the caverns in this weather."  
  
Rini began to groan quietly at the thought of braving the cold rains and winds. Her groan turned into a hushed gasp of surprise as she suddenly found herself swept upwards into a pair of steel like brand of arms. "Ohh!" the air rushed out of her lungs as she found her gaze within close proximity of Elios' chiseled granite face.   
  
Her senses were assaulted with a heady mix of fragrant water, outside and his distinctly own musk that hazily reminded her of the open sea air and ocean tides. Her arms flew up to grasp him around his shoulders, her hands locking behind his neck in an effort to keep from toppling out of his arms. She doubted if such a feat would happen, considering the strong hold he held on her. Other senses came to play havoc in her mind and imagination, one breast was crushed against a nearly naked, broad and warm chest, the rest of that side of her body was held against his hard body, in an almost effortlessly manner on his part. She wondered briefly why this man seemed to cause so much awareness within her. She staunchly crushed the burgeoning thoughts and wondered again if she had the same affect on him with her presence as she continued to stare at his chin and broad neck where his pulse beat steadily.  
  
Elios gaze shot down to the woman in his arms, his nostrils flaring slightly as he inhaled her sweet fragrance of spring wildflowers and reminding him of a soft, summer breeze on a lazy evening. Her pale, pink hair seemed to gleam with a light of its own underneath the poor lighting of the cabin. She looked up at him that moment and their gazes collided with instant awareness of each other. The others within the cabin were temporarily forgotten as they continued to stare at one another at such a close proximity. "We must endeavor to leave the safe haven of this cabin and those within," he said softly and unnecessarily to her.  
  
"I must be extremely heavy," Rini began nervously, at a loss for words to say and said the first thing that came to her mind.  
  
"Aye, as heavy as an Earth elephant you are," he said seriously, his eyes now shifting forward to Bark who frowned at the low tone of their conversation. In truth, her weight was no cause for concern as he had carried two; full-grown men down the slopes of the mountain today with nary little effort.  
  
Rini's mouth popped open in dismay as she thought that perhaps she really was causing him some discomfort, until she spied the barest hints of teasing smile on his full lips. Before she could chance a retort, Bark opened the door to outside and all thoughts flew out of her head as she was confronted with the storm that brewed like a torrid swirl of dark clouds and slashing rains.   
  
The wind whipped Elios' hair about his rugged face as they stepped onto the porch and then to the wet, dirt path. The rain fell heavily down on them and soaking their clothes within seconds. He looked back at the occupants in the cabin, acknowledging a silent salute from Marilee as she shouted above the winds for them to be careful. He looked back down at the bundle in his arms; she gazed at him with such trust in her face that he felt his blood rush through him like a streak of lightening. "Hold on tight! The cabin and medical building is at the base of the mountain. It won't take but several minutes to reach the mouth of the caverns." He instructed her above the noise of the wind.  
  
Rini nodded her head silently, and clutched at his neck tightly. She felt his body flex and with a mighty push, he launched his body forward against the winds. Her breath froze with shock as she felt the lunge into the open air, she quickly shut her eyes in fright for fear of falling back down onto the ground. After a moment of howling winds, she heard a great swoosh, the pattern was rhythmic besides her ears and she felt slightly lightheaded. With great trepidation, she slowly opened one eye and then the other, she stared with awe at the disappearing ground below her. Within several moments, the cabin and another larger building beside the cabin grew small beneath her gaze. The loud swoosh sound was caused by Elios' great wings gliding them smoothly upwards toward the caverns.   
  
The cover afforded little protection against the rains and was already thoroughly wet on her body. However, it helped keep the chill of the cold air from penetrating thoroughly to her skin. Elios seemed hardly affected by the rains and winds, his eyes narrowed against the slashing rain. Before she realized that several minutes of time had passed, he was already steadily maneuvering them into a dark, open mouth of a cavern. He set her down gently on the cold, rocky floor and let go of her, landing with grace and agility despite his large form. She watched with silent fascination as Elios threw his wings wide and shook the feathers free of any water.   
  
Again, Rini felt her eyes drawn back to that wide expanse of his broad torso and shoulders, his wet clothing explicitly molding to the muscular structure of his body as he shook his wings. He caught her warm regard, and a small, knowing smile lit across his sensual lips. She followed the direction of his eyes and felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as he stared at the blanket she was still clutching about her. Water splashed loudly from the blanket to the cavern ground as if she had dipped the blanket in a lake.  
  
She hastily pulled off the cover and tried to wring out the water with her hands. The cover was far too thick, so she was forced to wring out a section of each fold. Large hands grasped the other side of the blanket and Rini looked up with gratitude to Elios as he began squeezing the other side of the blanket, more efficiently than her. Her grateful 'Thank you' died as heat blazed across her face, noting where his glance roamed freely on her figure. She nearly moaned with dismay as she noted how the dress clung and molded to every curve of her wet body as if she had just taken a swim in a river. His hungry-eyed gaze continued to stray for long moments the delectable fullness of her breasts, the nipples erect and protruding boldly against her dress from the cold air and water, before dipping leisurely to the roundness of her hips and finally tracing the shapely curves of her long limbs. Her toes curled within her shoes and her skin suddenly felt very warm despite the coolness of the caverns underneath his obviously heated perusal. There was just far too much hunger in those blue depths of his to naturally shake her normal polite decorum into reality of their situation.  
Two male servants came forth from the dark hallway of the cavern mouth, carrying oil lanterns, brightening the din of the cavern walls with a fuse of soft light.   
  
"As much as we enjoy looking each other over, I don't relish the male servants fighting over you for your attention," Elios stated and placed the blanket over her shoulders once again.  
  
"But it's alright for you to view me in that manner?" Rini quipped, straightening up at the same time with Elios from their crouched positions. Her face continued to blush over his statement of her wet clothes.  
  
"Ah but, did you not just view me in the same manner as well, my lady?" He replied, his golden brow arching in the process and suddenly turning the tables on her. "Did I not see your gaze roam lustily upon my body, just now?" His brow arched even higher than she thought possible.  
  
Rini stuttered, her face blossoming again with heat to Elios' questions that she could not answer faithfully without admitting the truth of his words.  
  
A mischievous grin appeared on his face, his blue gaze flashing with warmth, "However, I did enjoy such fawning over and would welcome your warm regard any time you deem it necessary to bestow your lovely gaze upon a lowly male such as I, my lady."  
  
"Ohhh!" Rini gushed out with frustration, not wanting to rise to such a statement. "Lowly indeed!" Her teeth grated together at Elios' low chuckle as she clutched the blanket around her tightly. She turned away from the impossible Angian to face their new servants, who stood before them with curiosity over their conversation staining their features.  
  
"My Lady," the older of the two males started, "I'm Javon and this here is my son, Torane." Javon said bowing low to Rini who smiled in response as he introduced himself and his son. Javon was notably short and stocky, his arms stubby and small, but still functional. Torane apparently did not inherit his father's birth defect, but instead had the same three-finger trait as Bark.   
  
Torane followed suit hesitantly following the example of his father.   
  
"My wife, Sarah, her helper Denise are in your rooms preparing your bath. You must be chilled," Javon stated with concern, smiling. "Please follow me," Javon added as they turned to walk down the cavern hallway. The hallways were cool and dark, the torches lit by oiled clothes that gave off a low light. It gave one the impression of ancient castles and dungeons.  
  
"Now that you mention it, a bath would be wonderful!" Rini said, delighted at the prospect of bathing the last couple of days of grime off of her.  
  
"Ambassador, your bath is waiting as well," Torane added to Elios, who nodded in acknowledgement. "I can assist you with any other need," Torane began.  
  
"Thank you, Torane, but that won't be necessary. It's been a long day and I'm sure that all of you are as tired as we are. If you can have someone bring us something to eat, you may retire for the evening. Perhaps, by tomorrow the weather will have let up some." Elios added for conversation, watching Rini under the cover of his lowered lids as they walked towards their chambers.  
  
Javon opened a pair of wooden double doors and they walked into a surprisingly spacious and modern hallway. The hallway was dimly lit, but this time they were modern fixtures of light  
  
"How come the lights are so dim in here?" Rini voiced out with curiosity as she glanced about her. Her body was becoming quite chilled; she could hardly feel her feet, now numbed from the cold.  
  
"Hades is an island unto itself, sheltered and shielded away from the rest of Paradise's modern technology. And so, the lights here are powered by a century year old solar technology. Even the rechargeable battery back ups in the main buildings below are solar powered. And because of the storms, they've had to conserve the energy in the caverns. Your room, however is set at a comfortable light setting as well as the temperature." Javon explained. "The Ambassador's chambers are slightly cooler than your rooms," he added over his shoulder.  
  
"Why is that so?" She asked, cocking her head slightly at Elios. She steadily held fast to not allowing her teeth to chatter.  
Elios shrugged his shoulders, and said, "It's what our bodies prefer, princess. Angians are able to withstand very cold temperatures in order for us to fly great heights. As you will notice, these caverns are already considerably cooler than what you're used to. It will be necessary for you to dress warmly here, mainly to conserve the solar power and not just because I prefer it this cool." He watched her carefully as they continued down another set of hallways and was able to discern a slight shiver passing through her body. "Your chambers are not far away from the main room," he added to her as they came to a set of double doors once again.  
  
"Your chambers, my lady," Torane smiled to Rini and opening the doors for her.  
  
"Thank you, Torane," Rini smiled back, gratefully as the warmth of the chamber rushed towards her.  
  
"My chambers are next to yours, Rini, should you need anything from me. That adjoining door will open into mine, should an emergency occur," Elios stated, nodding toward another door just to the right of her.  
  
Rini looked towards the door and thought briefly that she didn't care for the idea that he could just barge into her rooms, whenever he pleased, unannounced.  
  
Reading her thoughts, Elios leaned forward towards her ears and said, teasingly, "Do not worry, my princess-as you are safe from any uninvited interruptions. However, should you choose to invite me in, I will come," he finished, watching her nearly jump a feet away from him as if she had just been stung by a bumblebee. He chuckled deeply, his deep blue eyes, nearly black in the din of her chambers.  
  
"Where's Denise?" Rini heard Javon ask his wife in a hushed voice, apparently hoping the princess couldn't hear his question.  
  
"She's next door, preparing the Ambassador's bath-like you asked," Sarah whispered back, not liking her husband's idea of having Denise attend to the Angian's baser needs. She had quietly watched the bated exchange between the princess and the Angian and could decipher a quickening of awareness between the two. She knew that Denise had no qualms about having any male sample her charms and wondered how the Angian would react to her, when he found a maid other than the princess within his chambers.  
  
A red blush staining her cheeks and an irrational stab of jealousy rushed through Rini at the mention of another woman in the Angian's rooms, ready to attend to his every waking need, "Well, it seems as if you have company-I wouldn't want to detain you." Rini said not meeting the Angian's piercing eyes, pushing a frowning Elios and Torane out of her chambers. She was at a loss for her actions, but did not want to examine them just yet.  
  
"Company?" Elios exclaimed, bewildered by the turn of events and frowning fiercely down at Torane from his great height and asked, "What the hell is she talking about?"  
  
Javon rushed out of Rini's rooms upon hearing the commotion and frowning back over his shoulders at Rini.   
Rini could not hear the rest of his low words as they moved down the hallway toward Elios' chambers. Rini slammed the door shut in disgust and stomped her way into her chambers, throwing her wet blanket down into a heap.  
  
"I must apologize, my lady," Sarah began, her hands clutching the towels she held in nervousness. She did so want to please her new mistress and yet her mistress did not seemed pleased about Denise attending to the Angian's needs.   
Rini halted her tirade, suddenly realizing how foolish she was behaving; "It's no matter. It's none of my business and I should have not eavesdropped on the conversation. You have nothing to apologize for," she added, kindly to the servant and trying to make her feel at ease.  
  
"But I must apologize for my husband. He wants so much to make you and the Ambassador comfortable for your stay, that I do believe he went over board with his hospitality." Sarah implored.  
  
"It's no matter, really," Rini said, gritting her teeth. "Please, let's not talk of Elios," Rini asked the servant, who nodded with relief evident in her face. "I would like very much to take a bath," she said and began stripping her wet clothing from her body. When her cloths lay in a discarded heap near the brimming, steaming hot tub, Rini took a hesitant step into the hot water.  
  
Before she could finish the rest of her step, there was muffled shout with something apparently falling to the ground with a loud crash, and in the next moment the chambers next door rumbled with a cursing roar.  
Rini and Sarah jumped like startled geese as the chamber doors next door opened and the rattling of numerous steps in a hasty retreat could be heard from Elios' door.  
  
In the next moment, Elios burst through Rini's connecting door and causing both women to squawk like chicken.  
  
"Madam!" Elios roared furious, the sound of his voice resonating deeply throughout Rini's chambers, his fiery blue eyes blazing with agitation toward Sarah. His body was taut with irate, his wings nearly spread out, the feathers trembling with the force of his emotions. The sharp horn on his forehead, seemed much harsher from the low burning candles in her chambers,   
"I beseech you to keep your husband's ideas of attending a guest under your hands. The outrageous girl thought to touch my wings before I even knew she was in my chambers! No one touches an Angian's wings unless they have been given leave to! And if I had wanted a woman to attend to my other needs, you can best bet she would have already-without someone else sending one to me! You had better ingrain that into that girl's head if she wishes to serve here!"  
  
Rini stood halfway into the tub, clutching her towel to her body and was glad that Elios wasn't angry with her. In his anger, he was magnificently a formable foe.   
  
Elios noticed Rini for the first time, his anger cooling somewhat. He bowed curtly to her, "Excuse me for the interruption of your bath, princess," His gaze not missing a thing or an inch of her flesh that was barely covered by the small towel before he glanced back at Sarah.  
  
"I'm sorry, my lord-it'll never happen again, I promise!" Sarah burst out in worry and bobbing at the same time.   
  
"See that it doesn't," he threatened, turning as his wings snapped in place from their outward agitated stance and then shut the door closed with a loud thud.  
  
Rini slowly got into the tub, setting aside the towel she had been clutching about her. Sarah rushed forward to assist her.   
"What's the big deal about touching an Angian's wings?" she asked curiously a while later and trying to calm Sarah who seemed ill at ease.  
  
Sarah flushed and shook her head, "I can't believe that Denise is so thick headed and smug that she did such a thing! She knows better! Touching an Angian's wings is the equivalent as stroking a lover's genitalia. Many humans have done so in the past and nearly got their head bit off for it. Not only that, it's an insult and a violation of their bodies." Sarah reached over with a soapy sponge to scrub her mistress' back. "Not to mention, that I was completely out of my mind listening to husband's suggestions!" Sarah scoffed to herself. Her charge hardly noticed.  
  
"How unusual," Rini pondered, feeling her insides flood with warmth at the thought and fascinated how the Angian wings were so sensitive. Her small wings, when she was an eternal soldier were not sensitive to touch, except to pain. Nether did her wings have the strength to carry another human as Elios had demonstrated earlier. Then a tiny smile escaped her lips. It vanished within seconds as she realized that she was supremely happy with the fact girl Denise was not able to complete her duties.   
  
**************  
  
  
An unknown amount of hours later, Rini was awaken by Sarah. Groggily, Sarah told her that the new day had arrived. It was very hard to discern between daylight and eve, since being inside a mountain meant no windows. Rini had fallen asleep immediately after her bath and nibbling on some cheese, white meat, crackers and warm wine that Sarah had laid out for her on one of the tables in the chambers.   
  
Sarah told her that she would have to don on the same clothing she wore earlier, but it at least they had been laundered over night and were clean. In the meantime, they would try to find some clothing for her other than what she came to the caverns.  
As they made their way to the dinning area, Sarah relayed to her that the storm had not let up as of yet. There a light breakfast was laid out on the long table in the enormous room. It was lit softly, the same way a restaurant would be lit. As she ate, Rini asked Sarah where everyone else was.  
  
"Denise and Torane are helping clean out the rest of rooms. Elios and Javon are in the main communication room, looking over the equipment and checking on the supply of our solar energy. They'll probably be there for most of the day. I have to get back to Denise and Torane, when you're done eating." Sarah shook her head again; "If I leave the cleaning completely up to the two of them, nothing will ever get done."  
  
"I'll come and help after I eat. I'm not afraid of hard work and would relish getting this place into tip top shape," she finished, gulping down the rest of her hot coffee as she looked around the room. The dining area had already been cleaned, but she could imagine what the rest of the rooms looked like.  
  
"Very well, my lady," Sarah nodded, smiling. She was really getting to like this princess already. Imagine, a princess getting dirty with the lot of us, she thought inwardly with a tiny smile. Compared to that lazy girl Denise, who complained constantly about doing chores and would rather practice her wiles on the men of their town! Sarah's mouth turned down in the thought, the girl was bound to cause trouble, but she could not turn her back on any volunteers to serve the princess and the Angian. It was simply heaven to her and Javon, having their own private chambers. Her son was very happy with the fact that they no longer had to share their living quarters with neighbors. Denise probably thought she was some high-class lassie with a chamber of her own to call.  
  
Having eaten her full, Sarah led Rini back to one the chambers where Denise and Tarone were busy cleaning. Tarone smiled in greeting to Rini. Rini nodded her head back and noticed the girl, Denise behind him. Rini got her first look at the girl who had caused so much commotion last night.   
  
Although Denise was not considered beautiful, having been born without eyebrows as well as missing earlobes, Sarah discreetly relayed to Rini that Denise could never have children having also been born without reproductive organs necessary for bearing children. However, there was a certain sensuality about her, which she made sure she used to her fullest ability and that the opposite sex was fully aware of them. Her dark blonde hair complemented her brown eyes, along with her olive complexion and slim figure.  
  
There was a distinctive disliking on their first meeting. This was evident by the way Denise completely ignored the offered hand of friendship Rini graciously bestowed to the buxom girl. Rini's brows furrowed fiercely at the girl upon hearing the disgruntled mutterings of monarchism going out of style centuries ago. Rini seriously doubted the girl even understood the meaning of the word.  
  
However, Rini promptly declared to the girl that she agreed, but since they were all stuck for the time being together, they should try to at least be civil to one other. The two eyed each other warily until, Denise turned away discomforted by the way the princess' reddish eyes gleamed mercilessly at her. Sarah and Torane watched the women disperse, both sighing in relief as nothing came to pass over their exchange.  
  
Having done with the initial showdown, the rest of the women and Torane quickly and methodically worked together to clean the rest of the rooms for the rest of the day. The caverns were quite huge and spacious despite its dreary and cobweb appearance. The main congregation room acted as a large gathering and meeting room because of its spacious tables, couches, chairs, library, huge fireplace and comfortable setting. There was a main kitchen area as well as a large dinning area. There were perhaps ten sleeping chambers with adjoining baths. The storage, medical bay and communication room were adjoined as one unit. As Elios explained earlier, the caverns were definitely cooler than the warm, humid storage room where Rini had awoke to with Marilee and Bark in attendance.  
  
Sarah found the trunks of unused cloths, as well as the previous owner's own chest of clothing. The clothing was outdated, but apparently the last Angian had an eye for tasteful clothing. Sarah told Rini that she could easily fit her for the ready-made garments with a few alternations around Rini's ample chest and to close up the openings where the Angian's wings would have been.  
  
For the most part, Rini didn't see Elios or Javon for the duration of the day. They were still going over the equipment and computers in the communication room and determining which were in working order. Sarah explained to Rini that even though Hades was closed off the rest of Paradise, they were still able to communicate to the rest of the cities with no obstruction.  
It wasn't until the end of the day, did Rini glimpse of Elios. He had requested her presence for supper and had pressing matters to discuss with her regarding their stay on Hades. Sarah laid out the newly altered garment on Rini's bed, humming quietly to herself in the background as Rini attended to her toilette. Earlier during the evening, Sarah told her briefly about herself and her husband. They were childless, like many of the couples on Hades due to their birth defect. Her husband and her had been thrilled at the chance to serve the archangel and Rini, because like some many who lived on Hades, what limited space of housing was usually given to those families who could reproduce children. Her husband and their son had shared their tight living quarters with another large family. Rini liked the aging servant immensely, reminding her somewhat of her mother's talking cat, Luna.  
  
Rini briefly speculated about their stay on Hades and wondered how Elios had come up with a plan to penetrate the forces of the Cycle. There was also the question of why they were attacked, and how their security had been breached on the Junketeer. The questions hovered in the back of her mind all day, plaguing her like a disease. She was sure that Elios was aware of the situation. She had a distinct feeling that Cerus was behind the attack of their ship. Her lips curled with distaste, reminded of the reasons why Paradise and Cerus were in such a state of hostile adversaries and why Earth was involved in the first place as a mediator between the two feuding planets.  
  
Angians were a highly coveted and priceless prize on Cerus. There were considered game to headhunters who lived on Cerus. There had been many attempts in the past of those so-called headhunters stealing past the defenses of Paradise to try and capture an Angian for the blatant, high rewards posted on Cerus. When confronted with accusations for the hunting of Angians, Cerus society heatedly denied such goings.  
  
During the second century of colonization on Paradise, a renegade of mad scientists decided to colonize their own planet, many of them happened to be previous residents of Hades. Despite the warnings that Cerus couldn't support a large population of humanoids, because of its harsh climate of intensive heat and dry spells of water. The scientists decided that they didn't need humans to serve them to their own ends. Cyborgs were developed for the purpose of serving the few humans that lived on Cerus. Somehow along the way of development and time, as many of the old scientists died, the Cyborgs had attained a state of consciousness. However, true consciousness and the ability to reproduce ones kind was attained by a missing DNA gene only found within an Angian's DNA. This DNA bonded to the synthetic DNA components of the Cyborg's half-human and cybernetic brain and ensuing the production of reproductive organs within its new host. Thus tricking the synthetic DNA to reproduce itself into a mutated DNA of human characteristics. In short, indicating remnants of the Angian and Cyborg background as far more related to one another than previously thought.  
  
However, that was where all similarities ended. Cerus citizens were true Cyborgs, except for their outer skin layers, parts of their brain and undeveloped reproductive organs; the rest of their bodies were completely manufactured. In short, they acted and lived exactly as humans, having gained the knowledge of human emotions.   
  
Rini donned the altered pale, peach dress, liking the way it settled gracefully on her body. She didn't care for how short it was, reaching mid thigh and exposing her most of her long legs. The cloth was of the softest, thinnest silk and very simple in its design. It left her shoulders bare, the neck line scooping modestly. Tiny, thin beads of pearls edged the neckline and armholes, lending an elegant flare to the rather simple dress. She smoothed the dress with her hands, turning her body back and forth in front of the long mirror in her chamber. She realized with dismay that she would have to forgo her brasserie as it only made the dress stretch taut across her bosom, despite Sarah having let out the dress as much as she could without compromising the design. Having disposed of the brasserie and sliding on a pair of soft, ivory stockings to encase her legs, she strapped on a pair of matching peach, high heels that surprisingly fit her feet. Sarah had also laid out a beautiful, ivory shawl, with more tiny, seed pearls intricately woven into the cloth to help ward off the chill of the caverns. Sarah reassured her that the main chambers would be warm, as the huge fireplace was lit so that her and the rest of them were comfortable for the duration of the evening.   
  
Rini glanced once last time at herself in the mirrors and a frown formed on her eyebrows as she stared back at her reflection. However simple and modest the dress seemed, it was far more provocative on her than she had previously thought, especially with the brasserie missing. The silk folds molded and outlined her full breasts; her nipples obviously puckered erect from the fabric brushing constantly against the nubs. The rest of the dress loosely flowed over her sleek figure, her limbs seemly endless in the short dress, her strapped heels calling more attention back to her shapely calves. Her normal 'rabbit' ears hair-do was in place, and Sarah had brushed the rest of her trailing mane until it gleamed with a lustrous life of its own. She grabbed the shawl and threw it over her shoulders, knowing she didn't have time to change and wondered why she made such a big fuss on her appearance over having dinner with the archangel. She secretly pushed aside the inappropriate feeling of craving to see the Angian and wondered in the tiny part of mind of her mind if she would meet approval in his piercing gaze.  
  
Stay tuned the next chapter....Lady M. Harris.   
  
  



	3. Challenging Fates

Moonlight Horizon  
An Rini and Elios Love Story  
By Lady M. Harris  
  
Author's Notes: This is not an alternate reality.  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
3085 Neo Tokyo...  
  
"I'm sorry, Lady Alicia," Madam Horton began, "but I'm afraid we'll have to reschedule your appointment." She said, agitated. She looked back over her shoulders to watch her girls, who were busy scurrying about like busy bees. I have to help them, Madam Horton thought with dire urgency. We'll never be ready in time, especially if this woman before me puts up a scene.  
  
"I can see that something important is about to happen, " Lady Alicia began icily, "however, it does not concern me in the least." Her ire was beginning to boil to a simmering point.   
  
"I sincerely apologize, Lady Alicia, but I'm afraid that I'll have to reschedule your appointment until tomorrow." Madam Horton replied rising to the challenge. Her hand snapped forward and she quickly opened her appointment book, flipping through the used pages to the following day. Mrs. Harrington normally missed her appointments and so Madam Horton summarized, she could easily schedule Lady Alicia into the time slot.  
  
Lady Alicia's eyes narrowed sharply over her dismissed statement. "I waited patiently for three weeks to get in, Madam Horton, and I won't any longer!" She huffed, throwing her weight into Madam's face.  
  
"Be that it may, Lady Alicia, but the King's appointment is far more important than yours at the moment!" Madam Horton threw back at the offending lady; she relished the thought of using the King's title at this lowly aristocrat. Her opinion of Lady Alicia was slowly disintegrating into a pile of offending mush.  
  
"The King?" Lady Alicia voiced with surprise. "Why would the King---"  
  
Madam Horton became more agitated with each passing lost moment, and the fact that the royal house would arrive at any moment. To make matters even worse, she was not at all prepared for their arrival, she burst out, and "The King has requested a private showing. That is all I can tell you." Madam Horton huffed, "Now, I will see you tomorrow at 2 PM. Good day." She said snapping her appointment book closed, dismissing the lady as if she was royalty herself.   
  
Madam Horton was certainly the most sought after custom, tailoring boutique in the Tokyo district. The elite rich paid large sums of money for her lavish and elegant designs. Her designs included many imitation designs from the world's best fashion designers, which made her a highly sought after seamstress as well. Herself and her staff of highly trained seamstresses personally attended their appointments. Despite the great imitation designs, the outfits were custom tailored for each individual and no two outfit were designed exactly the same.   
  
Madam Horton turned her back on Lady Alicia, promptly dismissing her from her mind and rushed forward to help her girls.  
Lady Alicia curled her lip in contempt, her eyes narrowing in cold fury. How dare that obnoxious woman dismiss her with out so much as the courtesy she deserved as a polite socialite? Her nose held high and her body stiff with anger, she left the small boutique, relishing the sound of the front door slamming in the process. She turned rather quickly and bumped into a large, solid male body, who in return nearly knocked her down.  
  
The man turned around, apologizing at the same time about not watching where he was going. "Excuse me-I didn't see you there," came the deep reply.  
  
"Darling, I'm sure you nearly bulldozed her down!" a light and airy voice announced from behind the man. The golden-haired beauty, unusual for Japan, was emerging from one of the white Royal Royce limousines, parked in front of the boutique.  
  
"When she's around, I'm always running into something just to keep an eye out on her," the man apologized again, smiling in the process and nodding towards the lovely lady.  
  
Lady Alicia felt her breath catch as stared in the man's handsome face. Although he was by means, one of best looking males that she had seen in a while, his carriage belied subtle power with an underlying touch of enigmatic to his outer appearance. She blinked her eyes rapidly, suddenly remembering that she had not said a thing to the man who stood politely smiling down at her from his tall height. The woman behind him was dismissed as unimportant as she finally found her tongue. "Oh no, that is quite alright. I wasn't watching where I was going either. No harm done," she added, lowering voice to a husky drawl and allowing her gaze to smolder.  
  
"That's good to hear. Gotta go. A good day to you, milady," he bowed low to her, either not hearing the subtle change in her voice and gaze or choosing to ignore them all together.   
  
"What did you say to the lovely lady?" Serena asked curiously, when Darien reached her at the doorway of the boutique.  
Darien shrugged his broad shoulders nonchalantly, a grin alighting his face. "Just apologizing for running into her. All because I was trying to keep an eye on you!" He laughed when the feigned anger crossed her features.  
  
Serena swapped her purse across his shoulder, chuckling along with her husband. "Keeping an eye on me, you say!" Thoughts of the woman and the incident completely gone from Serena's mind. She hadn't missed the great interest the woman had displayed for Darien. It wasn't the first time, nor was she sure it would be the last time a woman would make a play for her husband. Apparently, the lady had no idea who Darien was. She would soon find out, Serena thought.  
  
"Well of course, I can't let my beautiful wife get distracted. Because when you're distracted, mischief is bound to appear." His deep blue eyes alive with warmth and gentle humor as he continued to gaze down at his wife, Serena.  
  
"Oh!" Serena shook her head, smiling in exasperation, unable to comment to his jest. "And just what, I say, husband o' mine are we doing at Madam Horton's boutique?" Her golden brow went up in curiosity. "You haven't suddenly taken' a liken to women's clothing? I will surely despair if that is so!"  
  
Darien barked with laughter at her remarks, admiring her at the same time. His eyes leisurely swept the length of her lovely form, basking in the warm glow of her love. She was certainly a fetching picture in her summer white, suite. The tailored, short skirt stopping high on her smooth, golden thighs and finishing her ensemble with white, strapped high heels. Limbered, trim legs still impressive enough to stop traffic, especially from the admiring glances of the men walking past them on the busy street. "If I did, little wifey," Darien paused wickedly, and tucking her hand into the crook of his arm, while opening the door to the boutique, "you would certainly be the first to know, luv!" He softly kissed the nape of her neck where golden-white wisps of tendrils of hair escaped from her pulled up hairstyle.  
  
Her eyes flashed with smoldered, blue fire at him, the turn of her sultry lips warming his loins, instantly.  
  
The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted their private world of two.  
  
"Welcome, your majesty," Madame Horton began graciously, a welcoming smile on her aging, kind face. They were such a lovely couple and obviously still very much in love with each other, she thought with insight. "The selection of lingerie that you've asked for are exquisite. The styles came straight from Paris, France. The materials imported from the Singapore, India and China. Hopefully, your majesty's queen will be pleased the selections as we are, your highness," she nodded towards the king, the returning nod barely indecipherable. "Come, your private show awaits your pleasure," Madam Horton turned away from the couple, leading them towards the shrouded, dark drapes in the back of the boutique.  
  
"Private showing...?" Serena laughed quietly with surprised delight, her hands clutching Darien's arm closer to her.   
Kissing the tip of her upturned nose, "Come on, we wouldn't want to keep her waiting, would we?" He asked, the indescribable feeling of satisfaction running through his veins that she was happy with his surprise....  
  
*********************************  
  
  
11 Months later...  
  
  
"Lita! When did you get in?" Amy gasped, coming forth into the palace's immaculate, large kitchen. It was nearing midnight and Amy came downstairs to rummage through the refrigerator in hopes of finding the leftovers of dinner. The soft light underneath the kitchen door had alerted her of another midnight snacker. She found Lita chopping happily away on what she craved, fried chicken.  
  
Lita chewed on a piece of fried skin and white meat, having missed Miriam's cooking. "About a half hour ago," she said through a mouth full of chicken.  
  
"How was the trip?" Amy asked, opening one of the fridge's burnished, chrome doors. The light came on as Amy's gaze wondered over the contents.  
  
"It was great! And Alex loved Europe. He's upstairs already asleep. Commuter lag." Lita smiled at Amy in the soft bathing light of the moon that filtered through one of the kitchen windows. "But there's no place like home."  
  
Amy sighed, pouring some milk into a tall glass. "I know the feeling. I'm glad that you guys had fun. But it's good see you back too." She padded silently to one of the cabinets, opening it to retrieve a handful of cookies.  
  
"Mina still in Central America?"   
  
Amy nodded.   
  
"The tour must be doing well. Mindy," Mindy was one of the main chamber housekeepers of the palace, "told me that Raye and Chad got back into town last week." Lita added as she placed her empty plate into the kitchen sink. "How'd the buying show go in Okinawa?"  
  
"Good from-" the muffled sound of something falling to the floor above their heads interrupted Amy. She frowned looking up at the ceiling, her weary brows furring in worry. The King and Queen chambers were above them. She looked over at Lita and noticed the same worry in her face.  
  
"I've heard the rumors. What's going on with them?"  
  
Amy placed one of the cookies to her lips. "I don't know, Lita. But I'm very worried about Serena. After Rini left for the officer's training, things haven't been completely the same. I don't know what's changed between them, and this-this Alicia seems to be the cause."  
  
"Lady Alicia Woodward? Of the late Gene Woodward?" Lita frowned. Gene Woodward passed away nearly a year ago. He was the Chairman Financial Officer of the Palace Holdings and oversaw many financial projects that were related to Crystal Tokyo and its commerce. He had also been a close and trusted friend of the King and Queen. His wife, Lady Alicia had not resided with him while he was alive, choosing to live in America istead. They had separated but never formally divorced a couple of years before Gene passed away. "I don't get it, what does she have that would make Darien even remotely interested her?"  
  
"You'd have to ask Darien, I still don't know," Amy shuddered over the sudden chill in the air. In fact, Mina, Raye and herself had asked the same question of Darien. He had stared back at them with cold fury burning in his hard blue gaze, stating to them that they had trespassed into forbidden waters and that he did not answer his actions to them. Prying questions were squelched within an instance, and the ladies had dispersed realizing that they had overstepped their boundaries of friendship. Apparently, the situation was now in Serena's hands to figure out.  
  
****  
  
"Why must I constantly prove my trustworthiness to you?" Darien rasped out in leashing anger. He grabbed Serena's arm, causing her to loosen her grip on a rare and expensive, large vase that she had been about to throw at him. The vase landed on the thick, carpeted floor with a loud, muffled thud.  
  
Anger continued to wash over Serena's face. "You! What about me? Why must you keep secrets between us!" She struggled fiercely against his strong hold on her arm, her creamy, silk robe coming undone in the process. "Tell me, what's going on? Why Alicia?" She pleaded with him.  
  
"Alicia?" He blinked at her, his eyes unconsciously dipping to her exposed full breasts revealed by the deep vee of her nightgown. Her lovely eyes continued to accuse him. "As I've told you countless times before, nothing is going on between us!" He shook her slightly.  
  
"That's not true! You're lying to me!" She shook her golden head not believing him, the tresses rippling like molten gold.   
"I've seen the two of you together! Your conversation is quite intimate, her look adoring when she gazes at you!"  
The motion of her hair caught his attention, reminding him that he had not touched her in a while. His nostrils flared, aware of her utterly tantalizing scent. She was the one who had pushed him away, forbidding him from her bed, he thought dismally!   
"I'm not sleeping with her, Serena!" He bit out slowly, the anger still burning within him, his expression still hard.  
  
"I don't believe you, Darien!" She cried out, desperate to find out the truth.  
  
"What must I do to prove to you that I'm not seeing her," he asked her, pushing her up against their bedroom wall. "Huh? What does it take?" He empathized again, shaking her gently as if to prove his point.  
  
She caught the sudden narrowing of his eyes as they studied her angrily squirming body, gasping in righteous outrage. The inexplicable warning of blue fire blazing through his slanted eyes, the breath that she so fervently fought for now seemed forced. His sharp gaze was no longer trained on her face, but now on her softly parted lips.   
  
He fended off her useless punches against his shoulders with a lazy, almost insolent ease-finally gripping her wrists tightly until she cried out with pain. He pinned his body against hers, the lethal, hard length of him causing her senses to do summersaults despite her towering rage.  
  
"Do you think I don't know what you're about, Darien," she gasped back, could feel the thick, hot brand of his desire laying against her soft stomach. Her body responded with its own ache. Her breathing shallow and tired from struggling. Even with the fury flowing through her, she could feel her body already beginning to betray her mind, always, always to him. The lingering sense of languor creeping steadily through her body, engulfing her within its own treacherous heat.   
  
"I'm tired of fighting with you, Serena," he said through gritted teeth, his hands easily ripping the soft material of her gown.  
  
"And at this particular moment, I don't give a shit what you're thinking." His mouth covering over her parted lips, hungrily, greedily. Blotting out any retort that rose to her mind.  
  
She cried out softly when he finally lifted her naked body and dropped her on their bed, his fingers catching on the rippling, golden mass of her tumbled hair. Salty tears escaped from her clinched eyes, unable to stop them from flowing down her cheeks. She felt like...like a captive girl being taken by her conqueror. Sudden instinct caused her to struggle to against his domination of her, but her clawing against his arched back turned into a purring caress. He pulled cruelly at her hair or was it actually gently, she wondered? Pulling her head back so that he could press his lips at the base hollow of her neck. Her arms clasped against his body, pulling him closer, long limbs twinning around his hard-muscled thighs, arching her hips to meet his thrust into her welcoming, wanting body.   
  
The soft light burning in the background cast a warm glow against their silhouetted, shadowy bodies. He moved steadily within her, her lips catching in her teeth wanting to cry out at the sheer pleasure of having him once again encased within her. Lips and hands reexplored each other, as their bodies moved apart and then rejoined as one, making new patterns against their crumbled bed sheets.  
  
With his arm still holding her close, Serena dozed off and then was wide awake again, her voice huskily murmuring the sex words against his warm, bare shoulder as she exulted in the resurgence of his desire for her again.  
  
After this-after it seemed as if they had found each other again, surely he wouldn't push her away. Something deep within him constantly gnawed at him, bothered him. This much she knew, she sensed. If only he would let her in!  
  
"Darien...?" She began, tentatively. But he wouldn't let her finish. He rolled over her once more, the sheet haphazardly bunching across the lower half of him, surging deeply into her tight crevice with one smooth lunge. His hands threading into her tumbled hair. Twisting her body with mounting eagerness, stroking her fires with each driving motion of his body. He was kissing her again, fiercely, and possessively as if to ward off all questions, all thoughts except for this inexplicable passion they felt for one another. It was almost as if they both refused to consider the morning that lay crouched outside this night and that it could tear them apart again.   
  
His hold on her was almost diabolical she drowsily thought some time later, snuggling deeper into his embrace. She was frightfully tired and exhausted, barely able to open her eyes. Hazy thoughts of passion swirled in her sleepy mind, of how many times Darien had taken her that night.   
  
Yet, when the filtering gray light made its way through the carelessly drawn drapes, how was she to know that the new day would wipe away the night of passion as if it had never happened? Again, tearing them apart as the insistent knocking on their door woke the both of them.   
  
  
There she was on the docking grounds, dressed warmly against the chilly morning in her gray suit, black nylon stockings and black, suede high heels. Her attired matched her mood and the misty morning that sleepily touched the commuter ship and its surroundings.   
  
Serena was once more reminded of the morning Rini left for her officer's training so many months ago. Then she had not been able to think coherently, only of her baby finally leaving their nest. What a dismal day, she thought turning her musings away from Rini! Her gaze roamed over the important officials ready to leave for Europe. If only Darien did not have to take this trip. It would have given them the time to talk, to sort things out between them.   
  
Lita stood quietly behind her, realizing her melancholy mood. Her hooded emerald gaze seemed fixed on a particular individual emerged in a deep conversation with Darien.  
  
Serena's eyes sparked with anger. That woman-Lady Alicia, smiling so flirtatiously even in the gloom of the morning, up into Darien's face. Why did she always have to one of the officials accompanying them? If Serena did not have important matters to attend here, she would getting on that commuter ship as well. If only to keep an eye on her! How dare she flirt so openly, before her, his wife?  
  
Quite suddenly, almost as if he sensed her look, Darien glanced in her direction. His eyes dark, an inscrutable blue, half-hidden and shuttered against his thoughts. She stared back, her expression, unlike his, open. Lady Alicia looked back up into Darien's face, and then at Serena's. A small, ugly sneer appeared on her glossy, red lips, almost like a warning.  
Darien had already forgotten the woman standing so close to him as he stared back at his wife. How angry, but exhilaratingly beautiful she appeared at that moment. He mocked her by the half smile that perched on his lips. But she had more courage then he, to allow him to glimpse straight into her soul. As she had hours before, remembering all too well, her frantic beating heart against his chest as he made love to her again and again. Serena-his siren, he thought diversely. If only he could open his traitorous thoughts and allow her in as it was before. Alas, he could not. For her own sake and for his own piece of mind, he could not let her see the turbulent waters they treaded on.  
  
As if she could not continue to gaze at him with her heart still in her eyes, she turned away sharply. She walked away from the group she was standing near, letting the chilly draft of the cool morning take its shivering toll on her.  
  
"Excuse me..." Darien replied mechanically to Alicia, a disappointed look spreading across her face.  
  
Against every practical, rational warning going off in his head, he followed her. Walking up to her, he followed her gaze on the seagulls that floated above them and near the runways. He was on the point of saying something casual, in light of the night before still filtering across his ramshackle thoughts. Her face was still turned away from him, when he heard her say his name aloud.  
  
"Darien..."  
  
And now, it seemed as if the veil of doubts and misunderstandings that had existed between were suddenly lifted for an instant. He could see the tug-of-war between pride and emotion play across her lovely features, still keeping her face away from him as if not daring herself to see the answers in his damnable eyes. The same seesaw emotions he wanted to deny himself, but found wanting. He could not continue to keep up this farce.  
  
"When I get back..." he hesitated, for an instant.  
  
Serena swung her face forward, wanting to see his eyes and finding them for once, after so many months, now unguarded. "Is it so hard?" She said carefully, quietly.  
  
He let out a deep sigh. His answer, surprising her, "yes, for you. Always."  
  
So many things still not said, she thought staring deeply into his eyes. "Just come back to me, Darien-if you still want me, if you still care..." and for a moment, she thought he looked angry at her words, frustrated.  
  
"Serena..." he put his hands on her shoulders.  
  
She shook her head at him. "Please-don't! If you can't tell me-if you can't say the words anymore...then show me! Show me the truth, damn you, Darien!" Without caring that the deck was crowded with people, Serena flung her body against his, arms reaching up to clasp around his neck as she stood on her tiptoes; lips already parting as they hungrily reached for his.  
  
He wasn't able to resist her. How could he--she was his, for as long as he could remember and before--in another time, in another body. His arms crushed her against him, his mouth greedily slanting over her mouth. His tongue delving savagely into her mouth, causing her to moan softly against his lips. He might've pushed her away in the past months, but now she knew the truth! Could feel the truth bearing a heavy weight against her soft stomach. What a fool she had been! He could not have had an affair with Alicia and then make so passionate love to her, several times over as he had last night. He could not, she thought desperately. It was almost as if he had been celibate, her mind whispered.   
  
"The ship is boarding, your majesty," came Lita's embarrassed cough behind them.  
  
They broke away, almost reluctantly.   
  
Tenderness and frustration etched Darien's strained face as he stared down into Serena's white, tearstained face. He looked up into Lita's flushed face, his composure back in place, his eyes unreadable again. "Take care of her.... Don't let anyone hurt her," his voice low and concerned, but there was an underlying steely warning to the words that Lita didn't miss or comprehend.   
  
Fortunately, Lita thought as she nodded back to Darien acknowledging his statement, Serena completely missed the veiled meaning.  
  
Stay tuned for chapter 4...Lady M. Harris.  
  
  



	4. Tempting the Devil

Moonlight Horizon  
By Lady M. Harris  
  
A Sailor Moon Love Story: Rini and Elios  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
"Thank you for joining me, princess," Elios nodded his golden-white head in gratitude toward Sarah who leaned over the  
table to refill his goblet of red wine. Sarah smiled warmly at the archangel and straightened as Rini settled into her leather chair  
across from Elios. Rini couldn't help flushing with pleasure as Elios' blue gaze glittered with approval over her attire, his gaze not  
missing an inch of material or her skin. After all, wasn't that what she wanted all along, her mind whispered to her?  
Denise came out of the shadows of the dining area with two platters of steaming, hot food, warily glancing over at Rini  
who couldn't help but to stop whatever she was doing at the moment to gaze at the other woman. If Elios noticed the tension  
between the princess and the servant, he paid no heed to it. He only had eyes for the pink-haired woman sitting directly before  
him.  
"Yes, but is all this necessary?" Rini waved her hands to the servants around her, trying to dismiss Denise from her mind  
entirely. For some odd reason, they seemed to antagonize each other and Rini didn't understand completely why it was so.   
Ignoring the servant girl, Rini decided to concentrate on the man and their situation before her. Granted, she particularly  
liked the way the atmosphere around her made her feel cozy and comfortable, as if she were sitting in her dining room at home in  
the palace. However, the situation seemed impossible to maintain on the tiny island.  
Elios chuckled, agreeing with her, shrugging his great shoulders in the process. The feathers of his wings seem to vibrant  
a quiet hum within the room. "I do agree with you, but you must thank Sarah and her husband for insisting on treating us like  
royalty when it is not necessary while we are stuck here. They jumped at the chance to serve us, as did Torane and Denise, I'm  
told." He decided not to mention their first encounter with the overzealous Javone and the disastrous evening of before with  
Denise.  
Rini grinned along with the archangel; her nervousness dissipating as Elios leaned back against his seat. Unconsciously,  
her lids lowered, her gaze sweeping slowly over archangel's appearance. His golden white hair gleamed an orange hue, lending  
glimmers of deep golden hues to each strand beneath the flickering firelight that blazed in a nearby large hearth. Shadows dipped  
and curved on his lean, handsome face, his full lips curved in what appeared to be a lazy smile. His shoulders appeared somehow  
broader, his muscle clad chest hidden underneath his simple, but elegant shirt. The shirt had apparently also been altered to  
accommodate his large wings.   
"Well, it is nice, I suppose," Rini smiled as she took a sip of her wine. The aged liquid warmed her insides, the flavor not  
quite bitter but almost sweet on her tongue.  
Elios continued his slow perusal of Rini, warming up to the discussion that he could not further avoid. "We may have to  
get used to the situation," he paused, allowing his words to sink in.   
Immediately, Rini sat up straight in her chair, her heart slamming into her ribcage. She couldn't believe what she was  
hearing. "What do you mean by that?" She said carefully, her voice neutral.  
"It means that we may be stuck here for a very long period of time, princess," he stated quietly.  
Rini relaxed slightly, but his next words hurdled all other thoughts out of the window.  
"There is that chance, that we may never leave this island. Although, I have every reason to believe we may be able to find  
a way," he stated simply.  
"But-but, that can't be!" Rini stammered in shock, the entire conversation suddenly did not seem real.   
Elios inclined his head to her, understanding her feelings of frustration. "The shift of the Cycle only lasted moments when  
we crashed through the atmosphere along the way to Hades. We are lucky to be alive. However, another shift does not occur for  
another seventeen years," he stated, carefully.   
"Seventeen years!" Rini exclaimed, setting down her goblet of wine as her hands began to tremble. "You mean to say, that  
we will be stuck here! For the next seventeen years!" She continued, knowing that she was ranting like a mad woman. "There has  
to be a way," she started as Elios sat before her, calmly.  
"If the opportunity comes, I will, of course, find a way to get us out of here," Elios began. "Javone and I went over the  
charts that were left here by the last Angian. She recorded the next Cycles and the even odd occurrence of shifts in the Cycle. I  
will need your assistance once the weather permits to scout the perimeter of the areas that covers Hades."  
Rini nodded her head, feeling a sense of hope flare up in her. "Of course, whatever it takes. What we will be doing?" She  
asked, curious.  
Elios looked at her for long moments, before answering her, "The last Angian was very meticulous with her work, but I  
would like to make sure that the charts are correct anyway. It doesn't hurt to go over the details to make sure that nothing was  
overlooked."  
Rini was still unable to keep a groan from escaping from her. "But what if the charts are right?"  
Elios shrugged his shoulders again, this time a slight smile appeared on his face. "Then we will have to content ourselves  
with living here for the next seventeen years. Unless another way can be found to breach the barriers."  
"I cannot accept that! What am I supposed to do for the next seventeen years? I can't even begin to think of being  
confined here!" Rini shook her head, only playing with her food with her fork. Her appetite suddenly disappeared. The archangel  
however, cleaned his bowl and plate of beef stew, cheese and bread.  
"Do you think you are the only one to be feeling the strain of being stranded on such an island?" Elios replied slowly.  
Rini's gaze shot up from her plate, noting his hard blue eyes on her face.  
"Just like you, I have duties to my people-I am, after all, a guardian for this planet, and yet I cannot protect this planet  
from an invasion while being stranded here. Particularly with Cerus being such a threat to my clan and to the people of this  
planet." His eyes narrowed on her face, his voice dipping deeply, cuttingly. "Is that what you do for your planet, Princess  
Rini-are you a sole guardian?"  
Rini shook her head; the hurt and pain evident on her face. Every time her role was mentioned in protecting Earth arose  
still bothered her. "I am not a sole guardian as you," her voice now low and taut. "There is my mother, the Neo-Queen Serenity  
and my father, King Endyimon or the Lavender King as some say, who are ground rulers for Earth and then there are the Sailor  
Warriors. My function is not quite as important as theirs or as yours, for that matter." And then she knew that she was being  
selfish, like a child. Always wanting too much attention. Here she was complaining about her own life and this man, this  
archangel could not defend his people, this planet that he was responsible for because of their situation.  
Elios leaned back against his chair, watching the young princess, listening to the hurt in her voice. He wondered about the  
pain in her voice when she mentioned her role as a protector for Earth. Perhaps that explained why she was a long way off from  
home, serving as an officer in the galactic region. He sensed that there was a story behind her expression of pain.  
He sighed. He really did not have the time to console her and her insecurities in herself. He believed that Princess Rini  
would eventually find her place in the world and her role in life. He had sensed her power and another more dormant power  
lurking beneath her façade, waiting for the right time to reveal itself to the world and that she could ultimately accomplish anything  
she wanted out of life with those lethal powers of hers.  
"Perhaps," Elios answered her, pausing.  
Rini blinked at him.  
"And perhaps not," he replied, picking up his goblet of wine that had been refilled by Sarah. Sarah quickly returned to  
Rini's side and did the same for her. Elios noted the flush that stained Rini's cheeks and wondered if she had had too much wine.   
"Before this trip to the Junketeer way laid me, I was in search for a soul mate," he began, wondering why he broaching the  
intimate subject to her.  
Rini stared, swallowing hard. She couldn't even imagine being a mate to such a man. He took her breath away and made  
her heart beat so rapidly every time he was near that she knew for certain that he could hear her heart. She felt hot all over just  
thinking about it and turned her thoughts away from her wandering mind. Why was he revealing this to her?  
Instead, Rini nodded her head again, prodding the archangel to continue. She didn't think that she'd be able to open her  
mouth to reply to his comments at that moment.  
"I have reached three scores in years and my clan demands a heir, a new archangel to eventually take my place," he  
laughed deeply at his words.   
Rini's visage was stunned. "But-" she stuttered.  
"I know what you are thinking. It is, as you Earthlings would say, a very primitive concept."  
"Very much like our nineteenth century time period on Earth," Rini mused aloud. She was almost tempted to laugh, if the  
situation wasn't so very serious or the fact that she was discussing a very personal issue with the ambassador of Paradise.  
Elios' gaze warmed with blue fire as he noticed the twitching of her lips. "So you will laugh at my predicament?" He  
chuckled as she tried to subdue her features.  
"I didn't mean to offend-" she started, a soft laugh escaping.  
Elios raised his hand, stopping her in mid sentence, still grinning. "It is quite alright. Most people cannot understand the  
logic for an archangel to marry for an heir. But an archangel cannot breed physically unless the female is completely human. We  
can dally, but not make children. So now you know the reason behind the logic." He smiled roguishly as Rini's face turned beet  
red at his statement 'breed'.  
Images of Elios and her entwined in a passionate embrace flew across Rini's overactive imagination. Instantly, she  
blushed profusely as she tried to scatter the tantalizing images of Elios bent over her, his large wings huddling them within a  
protective cocoon as her lips reached hungrily for his. Rini's breathing grew shallow and sweat formed on her forehead. It  
wasn't fair that all he had to do was mention something provocative and there she was ready to faint at his feet. Ah God, did she  
want the archangel? Yes yes, her mind whispered to her. You want him far more than even your wildest heart had ever dreamed.   
She understood desire; she wasn't an idiot, after all. She wasn't one of those foolish heroines in her romance novels that  
she liked to read for entertainment. She understood the ache within the pit of her stomach whenever her gaze would caress the  
Angian's features when she thought he wasn't watching her.  
Elios reminded her of someone. Someone special and magical, a person who was part of her past and part of her dreams.   
She could not connect the two and maybe this was because this Angian made her feel alive and vibrant, like a sensual creature, like  
a woman. They way his eyes would slowly move over her features, gliding over her body like smooth wine and causing her back  
to be set all a tremble. She ached and yet she did not know, for what. And somehow, she wondered if the Angian was her  
answer. Her answer for what, her mind exclaimed. She didn't know. And she could not recall if this person in the past made her  
feel the same as this Angian.  
"So-" she glanced quickly at Elios, ignoring her internal musings, saying, "were there any candidates that you preferred?"  
She asked casually, wanting to bite her tongue for sounding fishy. She wondered at herself and why she was even asking the  
question.  
But he only chuckled at her statement, replying, "None, that I can recall that are worth mentioning."  
When she said nothing to his statement, he continued.  
"But now-there is one that I would fully consider," he added, mysteriously and leaving it up in the air as he watched her  
nonchalantly.  
She didn't dare ask, even though she was dying to know whom it was he was currently considering. She dared not think  
it was her, for he barely knew her.  
"But things are too new around here and I must tread carefully before I choose and it is probably far more than you care  
to know," he stated, pushing back his chair and getting up, thereby ending their dinner conversation.  
Rini wanted to say no that she wanted to know who the candidate was, but she refrained from asking. She stood up as  
well and noted how his eyes traveled insolently up the length of her exposed legs almost as if lingering over her curves. She  
blushed again and wondered if he was interested in her. There was certainly something in his eyes every time they turned her way.  
"We have a long day tomorrow, princess, and I would recommend a good's night sleep. I will expect you to meet me  
here in the morning and after breakfast we will scout the perimeter of this Cycle," he explained again, his arms crossing over his  
chest and so drawing Rini's attention to his broad shoulders and his torso. She watched in fascination how the material of his shirt  
bunched with his muscles.  
"Sure, sure," she stated hesitantly, knowing she was being rude by staring at that delectable chest of his, but unable to  
stop.  
Elios' dark brow shot up, a lazy smile appearing his lips. "Unless, of course, you would like to join me in my chambers  
for a closer view?" He drawled, not bothering to explain his words, his arms uncrossing for her inspection and startling her with  
his searing words as her gaze shot up in embarrassment. Her face turned different shades of red again.  
"I-uh...uh," she stammered, her head negatively shaking as she backed slightly away from the virile heat of the man  
standing before her so imperviously. "I-I think I'll just retire to my rooms now, if you don't mind?" She said, ignoring his  
statement that she wanted to answer with a yes, but didn't dare as she made her way towards the door. The servants had already  
begun clearing the table.   
Rini frowned as Denise stared hungrily at Elios when he turned toward Rini. Denise did her best to make sure that he  
could see the way her blouse dipped enticingly and showed the soft curve of her breasts. Rini wanted to strangle the girl.  
"Coward," Elios replied to Rini's earlier statement, the sensuous curve of his smile made Rini's knees weak all over again.   
He ignored the servant girl. He was fully aware of Denise's attraction to him. It had been very obvious, from the first moment he  
had laid his eyes on her. How she had managed to touch him when she thought he wouldn't be offended by her attentions that  
evening in his chambers enraged him, just thinking about it. And he was not the type to easily anger. He was making a very valiant  
effort to convey to the servant girl that he was not interested in her. Especially since, the Princess of Earth and Moon fully  
captivated and intrigued him.  
Rini turned toward him; her back leaning against the door to the hallway entry and Elios took his time to allow his gaze to  
sweep the length of her shapely body. The skimpy dress hugged her exquisite figure, showing off the full mounds of her breasts;  
her long limbs sleek and trim as her lustrous pink mane gleamed lusciously underneath the lights of the dining area. Immediately he  
felt the repercussions grapple at his insides, his body growing fiercely hot with desire. Her gaze was innocent and yet provocative  
all at once, yet it was more than he could take. He smiled slowly at her as if telling her good night for the evening and then turned  
abruptly away from her. His large wings provided the protection he needed from the craving evident on his face and screaming at  
his body for release.  
He wanted her and he wanted her badly.  
  
  
The next morning found Rini blurry-eyed and tired. Unlike the night before where she had slept like a baby, last night she  
had done nothing but toss and turn. A certain angel with golden hair, blue eyes and a sinew body had kept her up all night,  
dreaming of forbidden fantasies only to awaken from the illusion, warm and somehow unfulfilled.   
She was late. She hurried through breakfast, gulping down her coffee and eating a piece of toast along the way to the  
entryway of the caverns. Sarah had informed her earlier that Elios said he would meet her at the bottom of the mountains since the  
weather had cleared overnight. When Rini came to the end of the cavern, she began to fume as she stood looking over the cliff of  
the cavern entry.   
Despite the early morning spectacular view from the high caverns, Rini's mind was on how she was going to get to the  
bottom of the mountain with the elevator still in repair. She didn't notice the wonderful blue skies or the puffy clouds that dotted  
along the horizon as Paradise's sun brightly blazed in the sky. She didn't notice either, the huge ocean that surrounded them or  
how the water sparkled with that certain blue jewel color.  
Instead of waiting for Elios, since she didn't know where he was, she did the next best thing by transforming into Super  
Sailor Moon. Her mother had long since taken over the role of Neo-Queen Serenity and Sailor Cosmos. Rini had inherited the  
Super Sailor Moon role a couple of centuries ago.   
The costume had evolved over the centuries to reflect the fashion of their time period. It changed again as if it had a mind  
of its own. This was new for the costume, as it had never reacted that way for her mother in the past. Before the outfit consisted  
of the standard, very short skirt and long boots but more tailored and trimmer in its look. But now as she stared at the new  
costume on her body, the outfit had changed again to accommodate the warmer climate in Paradise. The outfit now consisted of a  
form-fitting shirt, very short shorts and again, light weight boots adorned her feet. The outfit was nearly completely white with  
soft touches of pale pink, soothing lavender and shimmering, silver highlights. Silver, crescent moon earrings adorned her earlobes  
and her small, heart-shaped locket dangled from a very thin, white-gold chain across her swan-like neck. Opera length gloves of a  
very light quality also adorned her arms.  
Rini pulled the back of the silky shorts further down over her rounded buttocks, not quite liking the way it molded to her  
bottom, enticingly. Then she snapped her small wings wide and alighted into the air with ease. The cool air whistled through her  
hair and clothing and then the atmosphere around her turned warm as she neared the bottom of the mountain. It was before she  
landed that she spotted Elios flying towards her with tremendous speed and agility. His sinew arms spread wide of a sudden, his  
long, hard body bracing before her for a stop even as his huge, white-feathered wings were spread wide. They beat so furiously  
that the wings almost seemed invisible, like those of a hummingbird. And of course, she could hear the hum of his wings as her  
feet touched the sand of the beach. The compound that she had occupied with Broad in attendance was a short distance away.  
"I was wondering when you were going to join me," Elios said when he reached her side. He thrust a sheet of paper with  
writings and architect drawings into her hands.   
Rini looked down at the paper that read like mathematical problems and frowned back at the angel. "What am I supposed  
to do with this?' She blurted out with frustration.  
"Follow me, and I'll show you," he ordered, alighting into the air again. Just as they were ready to fly over the  
compound, they saw Broad step out of the building, waving to them for attention.  
"What's the news?" Elios asked of Broad as they flew down beside them.   
Broad stared for a moment at Rini, her outfit and the small, white wings behind her, before finding his tongue. He could  
feel the Angian's fierce gaze blazing at him and cleared his throat before saying, "just as we thought, the Junketeer confirmed this  
morning that your ship was sabotaged."  
"And have they any idea by whom?" Elios clipped shortly, his words sharp, all the sudden furious at the older man. He  
didn't like the way the man had gazed at Rini with longing in his expression.  
"Do they have any idea of how we're going to get out of here?" Rini asked desperately, not noticing the tension in Elios.  
Broad nodded his negatively to Rini, his eyes showing their understanding, his gaze shifting nervously back at the  
archangel, wondering what he had done to provoke the anger that blazed from the ambassador's eyes. "No, the Junketeer is  
investigating that issue. It is considered right now, a high security issue and they are trying to conduct the investigation under  
cover."  
Elios nodded his head in agreement with the report, his ill-placed ire held in check. He turned his gaze toward the ocean, a  
visible tick in his cheek. "Thank you, will you be joining us later for the scout?"  
"No, I've got to attend to your security guard. He finally woke this morning. Marilee is with him right now and I should  
get back to him, too." Broad finished, hesitating.  
"Alright," Elios answered, motioning for Rini to follow him. "We'll meet with you later after we've scouted vicinity  
thoroughly."  
Broad smiled and grinned at the same, his nervousness leaving him in an instant, stating, "I'll come back out in minute. I  
want see you guys in action."  
Elios laughed deeply, unable to resist Broad's ernest expression and thereby releasing the tension in him. Rini turned toward  
the laughter, unable to control the tingling that went down her spine. Her breath caught as she stared at Elios' handsome, rugged  
face in a deep smile.  
"And just what are you staring at, my sweet princess?" Elios asked roguishly, catching her in her gaze and making her  
blush at his words.  
"I-I I was staring at you, that's what!" She stammered and then answered with boldness.  
Elios waved to Broad even as they started walking away from him. Broad was grinning widely at their conversation.  
"Stare at me any longer like that and we'll see about appeasing that hunger in your eyes," Elios stated quietly and low, for  
her ears only.  
Rini stammered again, loosing her step along the way. Elios' arm shot out and grabbed her around her slim waist and  
crushed her body to him before she could fall, and then suddenly and explicitly Rini found herself very close that body of her  
best-kept, secret fantasy. She stared into his beautiful face, her gaze roaming over the chiseled features that she had already  
committed to memory. Her tongue flicked nervously over her lower lip and drew the attention of the archangel's hard gaze to her  
softly parted lips that were very pink and tantalizing to his view.  
"You could tempt an angel, Rini," Elios drew out raggedly, his voice husky with fresh desire. The heat flared fast and hot  
within him and he was so very, very tempted to taste her honey and not just the honey within her mouth but honey in other more  
intimate areas.   
"And you could tempt the devil," Rini breathed softly, a new boldness igniting within her. The devil in me, she wanted to  
say.  
Elios stared for long moments at those utterly delectable lips of hers before noticing that Broad still stood a few feet away  
from them and alternating between a gaping grin on his face or his jaw plainly hanging open. He straightened them up, and breaking  
the heady moment, clearly indicating to her that they had an audience watching them with great interest.  
Rini turned her face into his chest, hiding her burning face from Broad in embarrassment. It only managed to cause the  
man before her to suck in his breath sharply from the soft contact of her pert nose and the graze of her lips on his bare chest that  
was exposed by the vee of his vest.  
Rini's senses were instantly filled with Elios' heady musk and from where she stood within Elios' arms, to Broad, it  
probably looked as if they were embracing intimately.  
Elios cleared his dry throat and then set her carefully away from him. His body was clamoring for the touch of her and he  
did not want to scare her with the blatant evidence of his desire tightening at the juncture of his taut pants. And he had to bring his  
heady thoughts back into order before his body took control.  
"I think it's time we got down to business, what do you think?" Elios asked, amazed that his voice was steady.  
Rini nodded her head in agreement, not trusting her voice for the moment. Then she said, "then by all means," she started,  
there was still a warm catch in her voice, but she ignored it as Elios' gaze pierced through her. "Let us not waste anymore time,"  
she finished.  
Elios continued to gaze at her for long moments before turning away, a devilish grin erupting across his lips, and saying  
words that were meant to entice, words that he knew he would regret later, or would he, he thought? But the devil in him urged  
him on, prompting him to say, "ah Rini, but that angel was so very tempted....so very tempted."  
Rini's jaw dropped.  
Elios chuckled.  
  
  
  
Stay tuned for Chapter 5! Lady M. Harris.  
  



	5. The Kiss

Moonlight Horizon  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Rini snapped her jaw shut and stared at Elios' back as they trotted on the white, pristine beach. Her eyes bored into his back, as if willing him to turn toward her and to explain his words. Ah God, but her insides trembled just thinking about what he said. She knew instantly that he was avoiding her now, not wanting to confront their emotions for each other.  
Rini sighed; looking down her hands that shook with the force of her emotions and nearly ran into Elios as he turned back toward her, with his face composed once again.  
"I will need you to wait for me, I've got to check the perimeter underwater. I've already went through the air surrounding us," he stated to her.  
"But what do you need me here for?" Rini frowned at him.   
Elios smiled slowly at her, his body continued to ignore his order to quit desiring her as she stood with one, softly rounded knee thrust forward and her stance subtly sensuous. But the cold water from the ocean should take care of obliterating the fire from him. At least, for the moment, he sighed. "Just scan the waters and make sure I come back up."  
"Oh," was all she could say. She didn't like his idea of her scanning the waters for him. It seemed too dangerous to her. But before she say anything further, Elios launched himself into the air at breakneck speed. Rini's mouth parted open in amazement again as she witnessed the archangel's lightning speed into the atmosphere. In moments, he was nothing more than a speck in the sky before she noticed a change in the direction of his flying. She shielded her eyes against the bright glare of the sun, her breath catching in her throat and her heart hammering away like a freight train. She again spotted Elios in reverse, diving directly into the ocean at such a thunderous speed that the ocean water erupted around him with a large splash. And then there was nothing but the blue waters.  
After a couple of minutes of searching the surface for any discernable movement on top of the waves, Rini began to fret. She started to tread a small trail back and forth across the sand, her brow wrinkling in frown as each second ticked by without a sign of Elios. Her gaze returning to the sea, time and time again. She knew that she shouldn't fret, that the angel probably to could his hold his breath for long minutes underwater, but that didn't stop her from worrying that maybe something bad had happened to him underwater that she wasn't aware of. As her mind began to ponder thoughts of unknown monsters probably native to Paradise's planet and lurking for him in the deep waters, her frown deepened with each further passing moment.  
Finally after fighting with herself, she gave in and stepped into the water that lapped against her boots. With a sense of urgency she waded further into the ocean. Each step seemed more frantic than the other. It wasn't until she was half way into the water, did Elios burst out of the ocean like a cannon ball, whirling into the air like a bird spiraling upwards into the air. Feathers floated down from his reentry into the air.  
Rini cursed, loud and long, her fist hitting the water before her with nary a splash despite the force she had put into it. A red haze appeared before her, the same way an angry bull becomes madden at the sight of a red blanket before its eyes. In a moment, Elios floated before her as she stood continually spitting out curses unfit for a lady of her stature and station.  
Elios chuckled mischievously at her expression of anger. "Have I done something to make you angry?" He asked, innocently. Crystalline water droplets dripped from his clinging clothes and flapping wings. His arms gleamed wet and shiny, like a polished bronze statue, his thighs hard and seeming impressively muscular underneath his wet-clad pants. Even his eyes appeared a vibrant blue hue, twinkling with merriment.  
If Rini weren't so angry at the moment, she probably would have taken the time just to admire his wonderful physic. As it was, she was too much in huff to care at the moment.  
"You could have at least warned me, you-you insufferable Angian!" She sputtered forcibly.  
Elios blinked, a grin erupting across his handsome face. "Warned you about what?"  
Rini wanted to shout. "Oh!" She spluttered, launching herself into the air and flinging herself at him, arms flaying with the intent to hit him.  
An 'oofff' escaped from Elios' chest as he was flung back, his arms insolently subduing Rini's attack on him as she continued to rail at him  
"Whoa!" Elios burst out into laughter, the deep rumble of his voice causing Rini's face to become redder each passing second as she continued to plummet at his chest with her fists.  
The more he laughed, the more upset she became.  
"I-I don't think it's funny," Rini gasped out, straining against his arms. She wanted to sob. She didn't understand why she was so angry or why she was taking all her anger out on him. "You-you could have been hurt!" She exclaimed, finally looking into his face. The merriment was still there in his laughing gaze and surprise at her comments.   
For a moment Rini forgot why she was so mad. She forgot to breathe, and her heart shuddered to a near halt as she found herself mesmerized by his glorious beauty. And the funny thing was, it was soul deep as well.  
The next moment, Rini did what was the most natural thing for her to do. She kissed him. Full on the mouth and shocking him with the sensual pressure of her luscious lips on his.  
It took nearly a full minute before Elios responded, belated as it was. He had floated in the air, his steely arms clasping Rini's body against him, still in paralysis. And then he was crushing her head to his, his mouth forcibly slanting greedily over her mouth as if he was drowning in a sea of passion.  
Rini gasped loudly against his mouth, the fire burning in her as she was forced to confront the onslaught of his desire. The movement of her mouth allowed Elios access into her succulent mouth, drawing at the exquisite honey he found there and eagerly taking what was being offered to him.  
She moaned when his tongue delved deeply into her mouth, lightly tracing her teeth and causing her insides to want to explode with flaring heat as she felt his large hands skimming over her backside and buttocks, learning her rounded shape, and committing the soft curves to his memory.  
The kiss went on and on, staggering them both with its intensity as tongues clashed and hands explored each other without even being conscious of the thought. When Elios' head dipped to taste the soft skin at her throat, Rini responded by throwing back her head, the flowing mane of her pale-pink hair shimmering like silk underneath the morning sun, her arms loosely clasp around his broad shoulders. Neither realized that they had floated down into the ocean waters and now stood thigh-high in the waters, so wrapped up in their world for two.  
It was the touch of Elios' hand on her breast, his thumb and forefinger confidently circling the aroused nub through her Sailor uniform that nearly caused Rini to sob in frustration. Elios' head shot up at the sound of her voice, blue and reddish gazes clashing and connecting. Slumbering fires of desire curled in his blazing blue eyes as his lids lowered lazily over his eyes. He cupped the full orb, molding the breast and testing its weight in his hands and instantly liking the way her breast overflowed in his palm.  
Was it any wonder why she leaned in further into his hand, enjoying the exquisite feelings that he was arousing in her. Heady and hot, the languid heat burning deeply within the pit of her belly that she cried out at the pleasurable torture his hands were creating.   
It was the painful ache and throbbing between his thighs and the sound of her passionate cry that tore through Elios desire laden mind, suddenly realizing how dangerously close he was to losing all his self-control. His lungs filled swiftly with air as he pulled slightly away from Rini's enticing charms. Trying desperately to reign in his control and nearly failing.  
"Rini-Ah God," he groaned out. Despite his mind telling him to stop touching her, he couldn't. He didn't want to stop.  
"Elios," she strained against his hand still touching her breast.  
He glanced down between them; the sight of his large, dark hand molding her breast was a highly erotic sight to behold. He moved his hand to the other breast as if unable to stop himself, and heard her exclamation of pleasure. The purring sound from her throat nearly undid him.  
"We need to stop," Elios uttered hoarsely, his hand not obeying his words as it reached inside of her shirt, caressing the silky flesh he found there. He found the puckered nipple, hard and erect and hot against his fingers.  
She didn't answer, her head was still thrown back enjoying what he was doing to her. She wasn't capable of talking that moment, even if she wanted to, her vocal cords were not in working order. His hand was warm against her searing flesh, easily finding her aroused nipple that jutted softly against the fabric of her shirt.  
"So why don't you stop?" Rini huskily asked. She didn't recognize the sound of her voice.  
Elios shook his head at her, his hand still lazily molding her aching breast, his blue gaze intensely narrowed on her face. Finally aware of his surrounding, he realized once again that they had an audience. He cursed and then abruptly set Rini away from him, once more. The moment he did, he regretted his actions as the sudden surprise and hurt erupted across Rini's lovely features.  
"Wha-" Rini exclaimed, staring at him with wide eyes.  
"We have company," Elios said underneath his breath. His breathing was still ragged, but his heart was quickly returning to its normal beating. However, his body was a whole different matter. For Rini's sake and his own, his stood before her and erected his wings so that she could compose herself. He glanced heavenward and knew that he'd have to take another dip into the ocean to cool his ardor.  
Rini was flustered; her face was burning as she glanced at the shore where Bark and Marilee stood gazing toward them. As usual, Bark was staring straight at them, while Marilee stared at everything else but them. She wondered what Bark and Marilee thought of her, especially since Bark had seen her mooning after Elios and then making out with him in the ocean, of all places! She blushed again, wondering if Marilee thought of her as forward. For moon's sake, she had only known the archangel for three days!  
  
"You left this on the beach," Marilee said, handing Rini the forgotten paper that she had dropped on the beach after realizing that Elios wasn't surfacing soon from his dive into the ocean.  
Rini took the paper, red spots on her cheeks and muttered a 'thank you'.  
"Have you been able to scout this entire area yet?" Bark asked cheekily, nearly erupting with laughter.  
"No," Elios coughed and cleared his throat, his face straight and composed. He forced his face into a fierce frown at the other man, intending to intimidate him with arrogance. The other man only chuckled underneath his breath and caused Rini's ears to turn red as well.  
Marilee subtlety pinched Bark's arm and immediately got the reaction she wanted as she smiled at the archangel, innocently. Bark's smile disappeared as he grimaced. Well, she thought, it didn't take them long to get to know each other. She hoped it was for the best, for she liked both, the princess and the archangel.  
"I supposed you still need to scout the perimeter of the island?" Bark finally asked, as he rubbed his arm, all the while glaring at Marilee.  
"Yes, that still needs to be done. On foot, how long will it take to cover the entire island?" Elios pondered.  
"Well, it's about 175 miles long and probably 80 miles wide at the most." Bark answered.  
"On foot, probably a week or more and that's just a guess," Marilee replied.  
Rini looked back at the archangel, her face now composed. "Why on foot? Why not fly?"   
"The vegetation is too thick to fly into and driving is out of the question," Elios replied to her question, thinking of the solar powered jeeps parked in front of the compound. They looked ancient. "And in order to check the perimeter of the Cycle, I will need to go through the entire island, even for just for the tiniest of cracks in the Cycle field. And that will have to be on foot. Then we have to contend with the wild animals native to Paradise that roam freely on this island.'  
Marilee grinned at the archangel's statement and watched the uncertainty that crossed the princess' face. "Oh yes, there are quite a few large, Katitz that roam around here. Beside the other animals, but it's the Katitz that I would worry about."  
"Katitz are usually nomad herds. They're a cross between your ancient saber tooth cougars and longhaired buffalo. They usually stick to themselves but are quite territorial. The males, especially. And they don't like strangers in their domain," Bark explained. He turned to Elios; "you're going to need guides to get through the island, considering most of it is an overgrown jungle."  
Elios nodded, still pondering the island's habitat and its surroundings.  
"When are you leaving?" Rini voiced.  
"We'll need to leave first thing tomorrow morning," Elios stated. "I would like to request your presence, Bark."  
Bark nodded his head, already thinking about whom he was going to pick among the island's best guides. "I'll round up a couple more volunteers and the supplies today."  
Elios gazed back at Rini, still measuring her, stating, "You will be coming along as well, princess. As much as I don't like the idea of putting you into any kind of exposure to danger. I think it be would far safer," and for my piece of mind, he thought, "if you accompanied us."  
Rini turned away from Elios, staring out into the distance, not seeing the ocean or the sun that continued to climb into the sky as morning gave way to the afternoon. Her predicament was obvious even to her and to him. They would not be able to endure each other's presence day in or day out with doing something about their attraction to each other. She had a premonition that her time within the Hades' jungle and the time she spent in close contact with Elios would ultimately forever change her life.  
"If you will excuse me, gentlemen and ladies, there is something I must do before we return to the compound," Elios interrupted Rini's musings as she turned back to him. Elios bowed to Rini and then to the rest of group and abruptly left them standing on the beach. A moment later, the group heard a distance splash and Rini secretly smiled.  
  
  
  
Planet Earth, London England....  
  
"Is everything in place?" The voice asked on the other side of the phone.  
Baxter nodded his head absently, answering, "yes, we're expecting them in two hours from the air strip."  
"Good, see that nothing goes wrong. I expect to that have the crystal by tomorrow and into Aaron's hands by tomorrow evening," the voice on the end replied.  
"Sure, no problem. Everything is ready."  
"Good, the usual call afterward," the came the voice again. And there was nothing but a dial tone.  
  
  
Crystal Tokyo....  
  
"Here you go, your highness," the servant laid out an assorted pile of jewelry, sitting on a pillow of deep velvet for Serena to pick from. All the pieces were priceless and each piece unique from one another in design and stone, most of them gifts from the king.   
Serena was dressed in elegant and simple evening gown of royal blue velvet, while white, opera length gloves adorned her arms. Serena fingered a simple, silver chain necklace with a small, diamond shaped like a crescent moon before taking it from the pile of jewelry that glittered like precious, sparkling stars in the night. Darien had given the necklace to her, on the first day of their honeymoon, many, many years ago.  
It was centuries old but still very delicate and fragile looking, reminding her like that of their love for one another.  
Serena sighed, thinking of her and Darien's night together. She could almost feel his hands on her as if it was the night before, roaming over her, touching her where she wanted to be touched, whispering soft words of love and desire into her hair and neck after being estranged from their marriage for nearly a year.  
"Thank you, Charity," Serena replied to the servant, who bowed low to her and turned to leave the queen's chambers.  
Lita entered into the chambers after the servant left, wordlessly coming over to Serena and helping her with the necklace. "Serena, there's something I must speak to you about," Lita began. Royalty etiquette was not needed between the two, they had been friends and comrades for centuries.  
Serena nodded her head silently, listening to something that no human could comprehend or understand, except for those born of another time and another place, an existence from within the past. She listened with her body and her heart, those whispering links of filtering luminescent lights of blue ice, bright oranges, fiery red and of course, Sailor Jupiter's own links, an emerald green link floated through Serena's aura like that of a soft, whispery breeze. Telling of her their whereabouts and lifeline existence, the links were such an everyday process that it was as natural as breathing.  
But in the distance of those links, two faint auras, one golden, the other, a shimmering pink aura spiraled around her own silvery line, however faint they were. Serena knew how powerful those links really were, a constant reminder and a blazing telling of her own link to Darien and their daughter's, Rini.  
"I'm hoping to sign the agreements tonight, Lita," Serena stated, sitting down at her Victorian dressing table and began to comb through the length of her silvery mane.  
Lita nodded, instantly understanding as she stood behind Serena watching her in the mirror.  
"Does everyone know?" Lita asked, Serena knew to whom she was referring to.  
"No, they don't know yet," Serena replied, "have you readied the commuter ship?"  
"Yes, it's all taken care of. Which brings me back to the subject that I must speak with you about," Lita stated.  
Serena stared at her friend in the mirror, noting the worry on her lovely, ageless face. They were all ageless, her, Darien, Rini and the Sailor Warriors. Those who lived within the crystal palace were also somehow given an extended life beyond that of what was normal. It was why Raye, Mina, Amy and Lita were able to maintain the love of their lives with their significant other halves that were human for many, many decades. This was because all of her warriors lived within the palace, including the other older warriors and Rini's.  
"I wish to come along with you," Lita asked, hoping to broach the subject without suspicion on Serena's end.  
Serena frowned in surprised, "It's not really necessary, Lita."  
"I realize that, but this time, I must insist-" Lita began, before her queen interrupted her.  
"But I'm only going to join Darien, I don't-what's going on?" Serena exclaimed suspiciously, turning around in her chair to stare at Lita, her blue gaze narrowed keenly on the tall woman.  
Lita mumbled a curse beneath her breath, wishing she had made up some feasible excuse as to why she would accompany Serena on the trip. Serena was not the little girl she used to be in high school-a happy go-lucky type of girl then, but a powerful queen, virtually aware of everything going on around her.  
"It's nothing too serious to get bent over," Lita began, hoping her voice sounded light and casual. Lita took her position as Chief Royal Guard very seriously within the palace and although her and the rest of ladies were Serena's guardians of the Crystal Palace, hers was a personal guardian position to their queen.  
They all had duties to the palace and to Crystal Tokyo. Darien, along with Mina was in charge of heading Crystal Tokyo's finance and business commerce and industries. Although Mina's duties were minimal with the capital, since Darien and Serena ran most of the business, Mina spent most of her time with her own small film and entertainment company, touring and filming worldwide. Raye's position consisted of Tokyo's bright and elite physiologists, serving as a board member for private institutions within Japan. While Amy did computer project research with the surrounding universities and was part of the board of directors for a large chain of hospitals. And then, there was Lita. Lita's other positions consisted of the nation's top security as well as running a highly successful restaurant located in the heart of Tokyo's most prominent and wealthy businesses and homes.  
Serena gazed at Lita for so long that Lita wondered if Serena was going to continue to question her, until Serena sighed.  
"Alright, I will take you for your word. But I wonder if you have the time for a short vacation?" Serena asked her, smiling softly at her friend. "You guys have been so busy lately with all your projects, that you're causing me to wonder, Lita."   
Lita smiled softly back at her long-time friend, her pretty green eyes crinkling in amusement. "You have nothing to worry about, Serena. It is nothing more than standard operation. As much as I adore Alex, I also enjoy my time away from him," she laughed. Serena chuckled along.  
"Alright then," Serena sighed as if she getting ready into battle instead of attending an important business meeting for Darien. "Shall we go?" Serena stood up and walked to Lita, her hand coming out to touch the taller woman's arm in a gesture of fondness and enduring friendship. Both women were stunning in their soirée evening gowns, for after the commerce meeting, they and two hundred close guests would gather in the small ballroom for a get together party. There, Serena and Lita would meet up with the rest of the warriors, except for Mina, who was still touring South America.  
  
  
Stay tuned for chapter 6! Lady M. Harris  



	6. Sultry Affairs

Moonlight Horizon  
By Michelle Harris aka  
Lady M. Harris  
  
A Sailor Moon Love Story: Rini and Elios   
  
Chapter 6  
  
Rini was hot. She was tired. She felt dirty and she was sick of the jungle, already. Her, Elios, Bark, and two guides, Ramos and Dave had been traveling for the past week and a half through the thick vegetation of the jungle.   
She swatted at a pesky mosquito; glad that she was lathered up to the neck with a natural herb repellent that Marilee had prepared for her and the rest of the crew. Her clothes stuck to her body, and she felt as if the grim was forever embedded within her skin. She wiped her hand at her forehead, trying to stop the trickle of salty sweat from getting into her eyes. She immediately wiped the moisture on her hand onto her pants, and then was disgusted with the dirty mark she left on her pants.  
Before her, Elios cursed an explicit string of words that even made her blush, his wings looking battered, having taken the brunt of the vegetation that kept catching on his wings as they moved through the thick branches and shrubs along their trail. He was moody and irate to everyone in their group, his body not easily adjusting to the intense heat of their surroundings on the ground for long periods at a time.  
Thank God, they were halfway through charting the Cycle. Rini sighed, her gaze lowering over her lovely eyes. She couldn't help it even as her gaze caressed Elios' back in front of her. Despite the short tempers in the jungle, the atmosphere between Elios and her was highly charged with awareness. There were times when she would turn his way and find his gaze intense upon her. Most of the time, she had to look away from him; her heart doing their usual rapid palpation's within her ribcage as she read the hunger in his fierce, blue gaze.  
Rini understood what was going on, she wanted the archangel like she wanted no other man before him. And she knew that he wanted her. But was that all she wanted from him? She knew that deep in her heart that it probably went beyond that. That her relationship, if it ever happened with him, would be significant to the both of them. She didn't want to dally with him, she wanted...she wanted...what did she want from him, she asked herself a thousand times throughout their trek? And more importantly, what did he want from her?  
Within the next hour, they decided to make camp. Elios took her around the vicinity of their camp while they recorded the area with their charts in their hands. The rest of the men did the setting of camp. Although she understood what he expected her to record, the mathematical equations were still Greek to her. She was constantly amazed by the amount of intelligence that lurked behind Elios' sharp gaze and his comprehension of the equations.   
By the time her and Elios were done recording the charts, they were once again sharp with one another. An hour or more had probably lapsed since their camp setup and Rini was longing to wipe off the sweat from her body. They camped near a small stream that flowed through the jungle. It afforded them clean water, to finally be able to clean some of the grim from their bodies until they were able to find a real body of water or actually return to the compound.  
Disgruntled, they returned to camp, not saying much to each other. They joined the group of men sitting next to the campfire, quietly talking amongst themselves and eating from the provisions that they had brought with them. Rini took the offered cup of steaming soup from Ramos, and sat down next to Dave, who eyed her and Elios with bemusement. Though she preferred to clean herself first, her stomach rumbled furiously indicating to her that she hadn't eaten since sunrise that morning.  
"We spotted a Katitz herd nearby while you guys were gone," Ramos told Elios who nodded in response while he ate his soup.  
"We have to take special precautions around the herds as the females are in heat and the males are particularly moody," Bark added, his gaze meaningfully going into Elios' direction.  
Rini wondered if he was really referring to the Katitz or to her and Elios' situation. Well, at that point she didn't care. She threw her wooden bowl down next to the pile of discarded bowls beside her and got up silently, wiping at the dirt that clung to the bottom of her pants. She wasn't washing the bowls tonight, she grumpily thought.  
"Great," she responded to their comments. "I'm going to my tent to clean off some of this mess from me."  
"Wait," Elios stood up as well, the grace obvious in his movements, "you'll have to make sure that someone is with you if you need to go to the-uh-bathroom," he added.  
Rini smirked.  
The dark, golden brow lowered over his gaze serious, ignoring her smirk. "I'm serious, Rini."   
Rini turned her back on the archangel, stomping to her tent in a fit of temper.  
Elios followed her, his stride just as determined as hers. He grabbed her arm, just as she reached the opening of her tent erected by Ramos.  
"Wha--?"  
"I'm dead serious, Rini! If a Katitz wanders into our camp, I don't want to worry over the fact of where you are," Elios snapped as she struggled against his grip on her arm.  
"And I'm dead serious!" Rini quipped back, releasing her arm from his gasp. "I'm tired and I'm filthy, and I couldn't give a flying freak if one-one of those things came in here!" She hissed back at him.   
His eyes narrowed to furious slits at her.  
Rini knew she was being unfair to him and to the rest of their party. She understood the dangers they were facing while camping out in the midst of nowhere. He was probably just making sure that no one came to any harm.  
Another one of those annoying mosquitoes silently buzzed by her face and then disappeared like a puff of smoke and distracting her with its disappearance.  
Elios stared at her face, his gaze centered on her jaw. His face screwed up just as annoyed by the mosquito that decided to interrupt their argument with its presence. In an instance, before he could think of what he was doing, he smacked Rini gently on the side of her face.  
Rini closed her eyes in stupefaction and astonishment, unable to believe that Elios had just slapped her. Her body trembled with silent rage as she held back the tears that threatened to escape from her clinched eyes. The last straw was hearing Elios' deep chuckle.  
She opened her eyes and struck back at him, her hand solidly connecting to his right cheek. She wondered what happened to her usual, common sense. Especially since, she had failed to notice the surprise that had crossed his features when she first opened her eyes.  
Elios touched his tender cheek with stunned disbelief as Rini gasped with shock that she had actually hit him with her hand. They stood staring at one another, there, deep in the humid and hot jungle of Hades Island, two powerful and two very much in love with each other individuals, as they continued to measure each other. Neither one of them wanted to admit who was wrong or just too stubborn to admit their attraction to another that was growing stronger and swifter with each passing moment that they breathed.  
Rini cried out in surprise when Elios hauled her into his arms, the steely bands encircling her and crushing her against him.  
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he whispered hoarsely into her hair.  
Rini sobbed out a gasp against his neck, hearing the soft endearment on his lips, feeling the deep shudder that flowed through his powerful body. The anger evaporated, replaced by awe as she listened to his words.  
"I didn't mean to hurt you-God knows, how much I care about you," he admitted, huskily, tearing into the deep recesses of her mind, melting the core of her heart as the soft words flowed like sweet honey over her. "I was only trying to kill a mosquito that had landed on that lovely skin of yours."  
"Elios-" she whispered and laughed softly when she finally realized why he had hit her in the face. It had been a gentle slap, her belated mind reasoned with herself. But the longing was starkly evident and unmistakable in her voice as she raised her head towards his. She leaned her body fully against his, the ache swelling within the pit of her belly, needing to be closer to him.  
He groaned, unable to resist the lips that were oh so succulently within his reach, feeling her soft curves mold against his body with infinite ease, just as if her body was exclusively made for him. His tongue delved deeply, hungrily into her mouth tasting the sweetness he found there. Tongues tangling in a dancing foray of passion and desire. This time, his hands were daring, exploring every soft curve, roundness and every dip. He reached into the band of her shirt and pulled out the white blouse and then his hands were touching the warm flesh of her back and sides, boldly brushing against the roundness of her breasts.  
With a certain wildness born of her own desire, Rini hands tangled in his long hair, reveling in the softness and silkiness she found threading through her fingers. She threw her head back and ended their deep kiss, but it only allowed Elios to ravish her exposed throat, where her neck connected with her collarbone while her heart sped rapidly beneath the cage of her ribs.  
With deft fingers, he loosened the scones on her head, allowing the full breath of her mane to tumble free of their confines and to flow over her back like a mass of pinkish cascading waterfalls. God, but she was just too damn beautiful to be real, never having met a woman of her worth or beauty, his mind thought as he stared her breath-taking loveliness. Not even the two most beautiful women whom served him and others within his clan could compare to her. He wanted her badly and was willing to wait for this princess until the world boiled over if he had to.   
Once more kissing her lips, he straightened, his arms still encircling her as if not wanting to let go of his quarry, he gazed into her eyes, a soft smile tugging at his lips.  
Rini smiled softly, gently back at him, the checked fires curling like burnished smoke in her gaze.  
"Come with me," Elios commanded softly, his blue gaze simmering with torrid heat and then unexpectedly he heaved her into his arms. He shot straight up into the air with a mighty lunge and cleared the tops of the tall vegetation with one mighty slap of his wings.  
Rini held tightly onto him and wondered how it would feel to always wake up within those arms. The warm wind whistled through her hair, but it did not cool the ardor that burned deeply within her.  
Within moments, the lush vegetation parted, providing a clear opening for a landing and giving way to a small waterfall and below the waterfall lay a small lake. Lush, tropical plants of every green variety and type, native only to Paradise grew in abundance everywhere, with spots of large, wildflowers dotting the entire, closed off area. Two large birds nearly half the sizes of humans of extraordinary color and beauty flocked and played in the rushing waterfalls, ignoring the intruders as if instinctively knowing that they were no threat.  
It was paradise within paradise.  
Rini cooed at the sight of the sparkling, clear water when Elios touched down near the waterfalls, onto a large boulder, worn smooth from its constant contact with the rushing waters. He grinned at her, unable to keep from chuckling as she eyed the water with longing.   
"Oh my God!" She gasped out with wonder, trying to steady her balance on the large boulders.  
"Come over here," Elios guided her underneath the waterfall. She came instantly and exclaimed loudly when the cold water washed over her, immediately cooling her hot skin and washing away the grim and filth from the past week and a half.  
She smiled with enjoyment, watching Elios enjoying the cool, refreshing waters as well. He spread wings wide, taking the time to rinse each one underneath waterfall until they were back to their blinding, white color. When he reached up to remove his vest, Rini came to him, her hands stilling his.   
He stared down into her lovely face, wordlessly allowing her to unbutton his vest. Likewise, he reached out and lifted the white shirt from her, baring her round breasts for him. Elios sucked in his breath as he stared at those luscious orbs, perfect in their shape and form; the misty pink nipples erect from the cold water rushing over them. He resisted the urge to touch them. It wasn't long before her pants joined her shirt as well as his own clothing.  
"You are everything I dreamed..." Rini breathed as she stood staring, caressing his splendid body in admiration. Burnish bronze skin, sinew, and cord muscles that dipped here and there on his superbly sculpted body. Her fingers skimmed lightly over his hairless broad chest, trailing over the hard stomach that quaked beneath her touch.  
"And you, I..." Elios replied huskily to her statement. He pulled them slightly out of the waterfall. "Come to me," he pulled her into his hard embrace, his body heating at the touch of her fully naked body against his.  
"Elios..." Rini gasped, fully aware of the powerful body against hers. She stared down between them, her eyes growing wide with curiosity at the sight of his fully aroused member protruding erotically against her quivering stomach. It was huge and thick, throbbing against her as if it had a life all its own.  
"That is what you do to me, every time you're near me, Rini," Elios uttered hoarsely to her. He leaned down and began to trail kisses all over her throat, his large hands now lifting to cup her lovely breasts. He cupped the roundness that filled his hands, alternating between fondling and rubbing the crested nipples until they puckered hard against his palms begging as if begging for attention.  
Rini gasped as erotic fires spiraled upwards, spreading and lifting, taking flight within her. The touch of his mouth was simply heaven on her and when his lips finally settled on one of her nipples, he began to whole heartily sucking at the nubs, nibbling or alternating between gentle bites. She then surely believed that she had died and gone on to heaven. His hands followed where his mouth had been, touching her everywhere, and tasting at every opportunity that was given to him.  
Her own hands began their own self-exploration of discovery. The dips and valleys of banded muscles released quivers from Elios' body as her fingers slightly skimmed over his smooth skin with a feathery touch. Learning the feel of his muscular chest, the corded feel of his buttocks, the dip in his back and the hard thighs that touched her limbs. When her hands reached that part of him that was straining against her stomach, she heard him suck in his breath, his body shuddering violently as her fingers closed over the velvet length. Her fingers tightened over the thickness and then gentled as she released her hold but not quite letting go, wanting to understand why he was so hard there.  
"Oh God-" he gasped out, unable to stop the instinctive thrust against her hold around him.  
"Ohh--" She exclaimed in titling surprise and elation that she could cause such a reaction from him. She glided her hands up and down the thick shaft, reveling in its hardness and velvety softness. When her hands reached below his pulsing length to cup the soft round orbs, he growled low at her, stilling her hands for fear of spilling himself without having pleasured her.  
"Rini...?" He ventured cautiously, settling his hips between her soft, pale thighs, the urgency now both evident in their touch and kissing, their hands entwined together as one as he trailed more fiery kisses along her neck and chest. "I would show you more, sweetheart-but I don't think I can wait any longer," he gasped as he felt her soft folds beginning to engulf him with its burning heat and surrounding his swollen member.  
"Please...Elios," she begged, not quite knowing what it was she begged for as she felt that hard part of him begin to ease slowly into her. He came upon her barrier and then abruptly stilled in disbelief as he stared down into her lovely, strained face.   
"I didn't know-"  
"Does it matter?" Came her soft reply as her shapely limbs wrapped around his hips.  
"No-I guess it doesn't now..." he uttered thickly and with sudden gentleness. By God that he was her first! His stunned mind reeled with the intense, male satisfaction. "I'll try to be gentle, but I can't guarantee-" he groaned, cutting himself off and then surged deeply into her enveloping warmth, breaching her barrier. In an instance, he was fully impaled within her deep crevice where she was tight and sweet, encasing him until he felt like exploding in her.  
Rini cried out as she was thoroughly filled by his foreign thickness. It stretched her and filled like no other feeling she had ever encountered or dreamed. She reached up with trembling arms and threaded her fingers within his golden hair, testing her hips against this new feeling, adjusting to the throbbing thickness between her thighs.   
In turn, Elios drew in several, sharp breaths of air, his body reacting violently to her movements. He was ready to erupt like a raging volcano.  
And then nothing mattered afterward to Rini as Elios started a slow thrust into her, the fire flared deeply, igniting like a single, striking match. She could feel every deep thrust, the slow drag of his shaft against her flowering folds before plunging back into her before she could miss its absence. The fiery flames flickered over her, higher, and higher, her hips lifting to meet his lead, gentle and tender at first, and then the urgency grew steadily, like a slow burn, unbearable for the both of them as they tried hungrily to reach that pinnacle over the rise. And then it burst upon them like cascading kaleidoscopes, splintering and shattering them into a million pieces of sensual sensation, before releasing them softly back into the light of reality.  
Several moments later, Rini opened her eyes slowly, gazing with new eyes at her surroundings. The wild birds still squawked loudly at one another, chirping or squabbling at one another as bird were ought to do. She became aware of the waterfall still rushing beside them. Her gaze trailed back to Elios, noting the deep, lapis blueness of his gaze settled on her face, a sultry and tantalizing grin on his face.   
He leaned forward and gently kissed her lips, caressing them with his tongue as a lover would do.   
And that was what he was, her lover, her amazed mind whispered to her. Her lover, Elios, this archangel to the planet they called Paradise. He was hers, her mind seized on the possessive state immediately and she liked the thought, immensely.   
"Rini," the deep rumble of his voice, caused her body to shiver and tremble as they were still connected, the sensual glitter in his eyes hypnotizing and enigmatic.  
"Elios..." she shuddered as he moved ever so slightly in her, still apparently hard and swollen. She could almost imagine how they looked on the boulder and a blush erupted across her cheeks at his and her obvious wantonness.  
"I am hardly satisfied, my sweet flower..." a lazy smile tugged at his lips, the gesture curling her insides and reawaking the blanketed fires within her that she hadn't recognized until now.  
"But-you-you...." She gasped as he began moving slowing in her once again.  
"I know, sweetheart. But I still have much to show you before the evening is upon us and with so little time--," he groaned as he kissed her upturned lips, his tongue lightly flickering over her lower lip with sultry delight, before trailing down further and further down to those lovely breasts of hers. He reached down and grasped her lowered thigh, pulling it up against him as he steadied his position within her, his hips already moving easily backward and forward within her. And then it started all over for her and him, the delightful wonders in a world that only belonged to heighten touch and taste and sensation.  
  
  
"We gotten word from the compound," Bark started toward Rini and Elios after they arrived back at camp. Searching their surroundings, Rini noted that the remaining men had packed most of their gear.  
"What's going on?" Elios released Rini, setting her down carefully to the ground like his precious cargo.  
"Marilee radioed in that Cerus has taken a more formidable stake around Paradise by posting warships close to our atmosphere. Paradise has readied their warships as well. The Nations Fleet is standing by as our allies, sending two more Commander ships from Earth full of warships. They have asked the status of our position in breaching the Cycle," Bark reported. He turned to Rini, his gaze softening somewhat over what he had to report to her.  
"What's going on?" Rini asked, anxiety straining her features.  
"It's not very good news and yet some of it is," he took a deep breath.  
"Spit it out, Bark," Rini resisted the urge to be impatient.  
"Your mother is on her way here to help you and the archangel get out of here," he started, hearing her exclamation of surprise. "But it's because your father has somehow disappeared."  
"Daddy?" She whispered with shock, not realizing the infancy way she called her father. Normally she called him by the name of father, but such a state reverted back to the only way she felt comfortable calling him and that was the way she always felt when Darien had protected her as a child. Her legs were suddenly unsteady. She reached out a hand blindly, trying to find a tree to lean upon and encountered Elios' arm.  
"Easy," Elios grabbed her by the waist, her sudden support and anchor over the news. Elios turned toward Bark, the concern and uneasiness lining his face, as the other men in the background strained to hear the news. "Did they say when the queen would arrive?" Elios asked.  
"By tomorrow," Bark replied over Elios' cursing. They seemed to be doing that a lot, lately.  
"That means, I'll have to fly all of us back to the compound," Elios summarized. He looked back over the encampment again, glad that the men had already taken the initiative to clean up most of their area. They would have to come back for the gear lately, as there was no way he could carry two and the supplies.  
"The other angels will be arriving with the queen as well," Bark added the final, stunning news.  
Elios gaze up shot toward in disbelief, amazed at what he was hearing.  
"They fear that the queen's or Rini's powers will not be enough to break through the barriers of the Cycle, so they will be lending their voices to help--whatever that means," Bark shrugged his shoulders. He didn't understand completely what the angels would be doing and he hoped that the archangel would explain.  
"What do you mean by lending their voices?" Rini was finally able to ask with her voice now steady. She looked gratefully at Elios, who nodded his head in understanding.  
"The Gloria Hymn, when sang by all the angels can shatter a Cycle's field for brief moments," Elios couldn't believe it, that they would gather together from the far corners of the world, for him.  
"Why didn't we do that earlier?" Rini exclaimed with hope shooting through her heart.  
"Because it's never been performed before and there was no need until now, it's only recorded in the Oracles as an act that we could use as a weapon if the need ever arise," Elios sighed.  
"The Oracles of Paradise, I've heard of that," Bark replied with excitement. "Have you ever seen it?"   
Elios nodded in deep thought, "They're not much to look at, just a bunch of programming languages that's obsolete and data that makes no sense to the programmers on staff in Elysium. I don't even think any of Earth's programmers could make any sense of them," he finished. "I take it then that we need to get some sleep in order for us to get back tomorrow?"  
"Seems like a good idea, especially since our light will be gone in about thirty minutes," Bark replied as they started walking back to their tents. Bark shared his tent with Ramos and Dave, while Elios made a large nesting area in a nearby treetop, the hot evening air nearly making it impossible for him to breath or sleep. Rini's tent sat next the men's, directly underneath the tree that Elios would sleep in.   
Rini heard Dave's low grumbling how clean her and Elios seemed while him and the rest of the men were still smelling like the jungle sweat as she reached her tent. A tiny smile escaped from her as she tried to think of the light banter going on between the men, instead of thoughts on her mother and her missing father.  
Elios noticed the smile on her face and his thoughts of disquiet disappeared seeing her soft smile. Since the men were already in their tents, he grabbed Rini, catching her off guard and swiftly kissed her hard on the lips. He let her go so suddenly that she would have fallen if it weren't for his large wings catching her from her descent backwards.  
"Do not worry, princess, the morning light will bring hope," he stated softly to her surprised expression.  
"Thank you-" she gasped quietly, tears suddenly welling in her eyes and threatening to fall.  
"In Elysium, my chambers are very large, Rini," he started, hoping to take the tears away by infusing desire in its stead and taking her by surprise with the change of subject. He had only been able to take her three times by the waterfall, hardly enough to satisfy his needs or for the fact that he still wanted her beyond anything that he ever understood he thought as they stood staring at one another. "Large enough for an archangel to spread his wings, to make them quiver as desire roars through his veins."   
Rini gulped, as her overactive imagination fairly flew through her mind, her newly awaken body responding swiftly to the enticing images floating through her mind. Those images of her, lying underneath a certain wicked angel with vibrant blue eyes, in the middle of a very big bed. Then the thoughts stopped abruptly as her brows drew fiercely together as another thought struck her.  
"What?" Elios shot back at her frown.  
"Have you ever-ever done that in your chambers with someone else?" She asked, her voice quivering, all the sudden she didn't want to know, actually. What did it matter who he was with before, when now she knew that she'd do anything to make sure that she was his only lover.  
"Uh...no, I have never taken a woman in my chambers before, if that's what you're asking. You could be the first and perhaps..." he invited and trailed off, almost admitting to her that she was the only one he ever intended to take to his chambers. But instead, he snickered as if not giving away any of his thoughts. He could already imagine her exquisite body laying on his bed, her long, pale-pink hair spread about her in artful disarray, the languor desire slumbering in her reddish hue eyes as she stared up into his face. He wanted to groan at the thought. Already his member was rising beneath its tight confinement.  
"Oh you.... you're contemptible!" She burst out, laughing softly and enjoying his sexual banter, noting the intense hunger look blazing across his chiseled features. She suppressed the renewed desire already beginning to recognize the hunger that grew within her. She wanted more than anything to fling herself against him, but didn't dare with Bark and the other men in the next tent to hers.  
His brow shot up devilishly as he turned away, his wings spreading slightly in preparation for flight, "dream of me, princess for I surely will think of you," was his parting shot. With mighty lunge into the darkening sky, wings spread wide, he was gone in moments, leaving a trail of white feathers, showering her with his lingering presence. He left Rini standing at the opening of her tent watching him fly towards the top of the tree, with longing evident in her eyes.   
  
  
As she turned away about to enter her tent, she heard a distinct, gutter growl that froze her insides and paralyzed her limbs. She glanced nervously toward the dark shrubbery and gasped with fright as yellow and green eyes gleamed steadily at her.  
In the next, frightening moment, there was nothing but a dark golden blur as a large snarling beast leaped from the cover of the bushes as her scream pierced the jungle night.  
  
  
Stay tuned to Chapter 7! Lady M. Harris  
  
  
  



	7. Beastly Clashes

Hello Readers!  
  
I hope you're enjoying this story so far. I'm getting conflicting comments on this story, when I virtually heard nothing before. Some are saying that the story is moving too slow while others say that the chapters are too short. Another is that Elios and Rini should have waited or not waited so long! Ohh, it seems that cannot please everyone! I'm trying, but its kinda hard since I've never proclaimed to be fast writer. Especially since I have children, fulltime job, studying for my engineering certification. Which by the way, will be my focus until after I pass all the tests, got about 4 more to go. I'm hoping to be done by the end of February. Very hard to do all that!!^^ I will try my best to stick with this story and finish it. It may take some time since I write pretty slow. That I can't help.^^ Well, onto the story! Let me know what you think of it!  
  
  
Moonlight Horizon  
  
A Sailor Moon Sekkushiaru Roman Story:  
An Rini and Elios Love Story  
By Lady M. Harris  
  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Rini screeched as the large beast attacked her. Her arms flew out before her in an unconscious attempt to balance herself but instead she gripped at the large beast's forearms, trying to protect her face as the beast's long teeth that snapped ferociously at her. Salivate landed on her face and neck, as the beast roared at her in a violent rage. Rini gasped against the pain of the beast's claws digging deeply into her side and arm, her fear overridden by the sheer need to fight back against the brutal strength before her.  
  
The beast poled her into the men's tent behind her, exclamations of jolted surprise and fear erupting from the tent. Bodies scrambled out of the tent, caught unaware by the commotion. The men stood dumbfounded by the shock for what seemed an eternity before realizing the princess needed their desperate help. Bark was the first to jump on the beast's back, followed by Ramos. However, Dave tripped over the fallen tent trying to avoid the beast's furious gaze as it swung towards the men.  
  
Elios heard the scream. The sound curled his heart in fear, recognizing Rini's fear in the scream and seizing him like no other feeling. With a jarring shift of his powerful wings, he was heading toward the woman below in struggling with the Katitz. Rage flowed over Elios, wiping away the fear that continued its stronghold onto his heart like a tight conflicting vise, as he stared with rising horror at Rini and the two other men struggling with the Katitz.   
  
From one of his boots, Elios pulled a long, sharp dagger; the blade gleamed briefly, brightly against the darkening, night sky. With precision born of instinct and of years of training, Elios landed on top of the Katitz, his blade hitting its mark without hurting either Rini or the men. Both the Katitz and Elios roared, one of pain, the other of triumph.   
With adrenaline pumping rapidly through its coarse veins, the Katitz threw off the two men, leaving Rini lying stunned on the ground as Elios continued his death grip on the enraged beast. It swayed and heaved, bucking its massive body against this new intruder who had caused it so much pain. And it still, the beast screamed in anguish and fury, renewing its efforts to loosen the offending invader still straddling it.  
  
There was no time to transform, no time to think, and no time to even breath as Rini rushed back and onto her feet, ignoring the sharp pain that grappled at her back from having been thrown away from the beast. Without paying any thought to her actions or what she was doing, Rini grabbed a large, iron frying pan and nearly stumbled with fright as the beast's tremendous mouth tore into Ramos' right leg as he tried to slam a small cutting knife into the beast's back. Blood spurted everywhere as his scream matched that of the beast's. Elios plunged his knife yet again, solidly into the beast's heaving flesh but it seemed to have no affect on the rampaging Katitz.  
  
In retaliation, the Katitz clamped harder into Ramos' leg, literally shattering the bone to pieces, the sound echoing loudly in everyone's ears. Ramos cried out hoarsely, eerily, the sound filled with so much pain, before finally passing out. Without thought of what she was doing, Rini raised her arms above her head and smashed the iron pan atop the Katitz's head with such a force that she felt her arms vibrate from the fierce impact of the pan connecting with bone of the Katitz's head.  
  
The Katitz slumped to the ground, dead, and finally released its hold on Ramos.  
  
Elios jumped off the beast, his breathing harsh and fast, his body shuddering violently.  
  
Rini stood before the Katitz in shock, unaware that she was sobbing, her body trembling mightily. She lost the battle to steady herself, feeling the raging tremors along her body. Her legs gave way as Elios reached her.   
  
Elios caught her effortlessly within his arms, his gaze swinging toward her face in concern, admiration and sudden, swelling tenderness. My God, his mind declared, she had just saved all their lives and she did it in her true form, her human form!  
  
Bark and Dave were immediately beside Ramos, trying to staunch the flow of the blood that continued to pour out Ramos' gaping wound.  
  
"We've got to get into the trees, now," Elios shouted to the men, even as he continued to hold onto Rini. He was already striding toward them, pulling Rini along with him with as much gentleness as he could allow. But they had to get out of the vicinity immediately and with the utmost, dire haste. The men looked up startled and still shaken from the life-threatening event, knowing instinctively that they were not out of danger. The next few minutes would prove vital to their continued existence.  
  
"Why?" Rini burst out between her sobs, suddenly confused, the tears flowing silently down her stained, white cheeks. She gripped at Elios' arms, and felt them contract underneath her touch of fright.  
  
But Bark was already trying to grab whatever he could find that he needed as medical supplies from their scattered gear. He was just realizing what could happen next. Dave gazed back at Bark and Elios as the realization dawned on him as well.   
  
"More Katitz," was all the explanation Elios needed to give Rini. A small cry of distress escaped from her lips as her and Elios reached Bark's side. They rolled Ramos into a thin blanket, his leg hastily, and for the time being, bind in a handmade bandage.   
  
Elios hefted the unconscious Ramos onto his arms, his eyes darting to Rini's with unease. "You're going to have to transform as I need Bark with me to help care for Ramos, Rini," he stated to her, his gaze going quickly to the men, who nodded in return and understanding. They didn't want to risk her life if another Katitz arrived while Elios was flying them to the treetop.  
  
She nodded her head solemnly and immediately did as he asked. The men watched with silent, haggard faces, their wonder over her sequenced transformation lost for the moment as their lives tittered on the edge of danger.  
  
"I can carry Dave into the tree, but I won't be able to carry him the distance back to the compound," Rini volunteered, her voice now steady as instinct finally found its feet within her and took over her fear. She welcomed it with open arms; it was better than having to face what had just happened to them.   
  
Elios nodded his head in agreement, steadying Ramos in his arms as gently as he could.  
  
"In that case, let's leave now," Bark stated, "we'll have to leave you, Dave, in the treetops, but it's better than on the ground."  
  
"No, that's more than fine with me. Just don't forget to come back for me," Dave smiled wryly at them.  
  
"You can count on that," Elios answered, "we must hurry then, Ramos is still loosing too much blood for my comfort."  
  
It wasn't until nearly the early morning hours when Rini finally settled into her bedchambers, back at the caverns. Her, Elios, Bark and the unconscious Ramos were the first to fly back to the compound. Luckily, they arrived in time for Bark and Marilee to stitch up Ramos' wound after stopping the bleeding. He remained unconscious for the time being, while Bark prayed that an infection would not set in. Marilee was a lot more optimistic in the outcome.   
  
While Bark and Marilee were held up in the Medical Bay piecing together Ramos, Elios flew back to get Dave. As he suspected, other family members of the Katitz had already arrived at the scene of the dead Katitz. If the situation hadn't been so serious, Elios probably would have laughed at Dave's expression of gratitude when he alighted into his nesting area where he had made his bedding to help escape from the intense heat of the jungle.  
  
The Katitz were in full mourning for they're lost fellow mate. It was obviously a large male member, based on its size and heavy weight. Perhaps, it had even been one of the hierarchy males. Elios didn't particularly care at the moment, as their wailing cries were becoming louder and louder with each passing moment, almost to the point of awakening every animal and beast within the nearest vicinity. Obviously, the sounds bothered Dave, even though Elios knew that Dave was probably quite aware of the tactics of the Katitz.  
  
Rini didn't hear chamber doors opening to the quiet footsteps of the archangel. She was too tired, drained of any energy, having worried herself over Ramos until she finally drifted into fitful sleep. She protested groggily as Elios gathered her closer to his body, but only as if to wade the unpleasant dream that harbored close her weary subconscious, a small remnant of their past encounter with the Katitz. Their bodies spooned naturally beneath the covers of her large bed and Rini sighed blissfully when his body heat began to penetrate her lightly clad body. She snuggled further against Elios, her bottom fitting quite easily into the crook of his slim hips.   
  
Despite the weariness clinging to his mind, Elios' body reaction was quite of the opposite. Within moments, he lay next to her throbbing painfully against the indented curve of Rini's rounded buttocks, trying to rationalize with himself the importance of sleep.  
  
He sighed quietly, trying to will his body to calmness. And it didn't help that all he could see within the low-lighted room was her soft, shadowed rounded curves underneath their covers. Nor that her sweet breath feathered lightly across the sensitive skin of his arm that was lying beneath her head. She murmured in her sleep, her closed, slanted eyes moving restlessly underneath her lids as she dreamed of something beyond that of reality. A smiled tugged at his lips, his hands brushing gently against her warm forehead. The soft touch evoked magic and she quieted her movements, sighing peacefully in her sleep.  
  
Finally, somewhere between the hours of early morning and before the morning dawn peeked its head over the ocean and the two, blue moons of Paradise still shown brightly against the night sky, did Elios win the battle with body and joined Rini in a deep, dreamless sleep.  
  
It was the lingering stroke against her hips that awoke Rini, slowly to the soft light within her warm room. She stretched her limbs slowly; leisurely enjoying the light caress of Elios' hand as it ran from her high waist to her upper thighs, leaving in its wake a fiery trail across her skin. A small smile curved on her lips as she realized with a start that Elios had joined her sometime during the night in her bed. She never believed that he would be bold enough to join her, much less wake up to him within the confines of her bed with him stroking her body with those skillful hands of his until she felt like she would explode with fire.  
  
She was unable to stop the small sigh of contentment that escaped from her lips when he reached over and softly kissed her rounded shoulder. His hand snaked forward to cup the fullness of her breast, cupping the full weight within his hand and palming the shapely breast until they swelled with arousal. Rini was only aware of her body straining forward, her breast further filling his large hand as if it ached for of his caresses.  
A gasp exploded from her throat when she felt his tongue dance on her shoulder, circling, twirling and tasting her, filling her senses and electrifying it with his scalding touch. She felt as if she tittering on the edge of some new discovery, now understanding the silent pleas with his hands that seemed to worship her body and the flaming kisses that followed his inquiry. And then his hand pulled her down to face him and Rini's breath stilled within her chest as she was confronted the provocative lure in his glittering gaze.  
  
They stared at one another for long moments as if wondering about each other thoughts in their minds and yet content just to gaze at one another with natural desire and wonderment coursing through their gazes.   
  
She couldn't see the blueness in his eyes, couldn't read exactly what was there in his gaze, but it was no matter, for when he leaned down to touch her lips with his own she was lost within its gentle, exploring caress.  
He kissed her slowly as if experimenting with the taste of her that their kiss evoked. He lingered possessively for long moments on the full shape of her lips, before dipping between her pearly teeth to explore the warm honey within her mouth. Searching and finding her delicate, hesitant tongue that reached eagerly to parry with his in a dance of passion.  
  
She sighed against his mouth and Elios broke their kiss to trail more flaming kisses down her exposed throat. She fully became aware of his hands exploring her shapely curves beneath her thin night rail and then her breath caught in her throat when his fingers delved into her curly mound with determination and purpose. She couldn't help the cry of helpless surrender when his dexterous fingers weave its beguiling sorcery, flooding her insides with flaring heat. Her thighs opened of their own accord allowing him better access to her inner, moist folds. She heard someone moaning in the background and realized with a start, that it was indeed herself making those throaty sounds. But how could she not hold back the joy that came naturally when his fingers wickedly tantalized and teased her innermost womanhood and she was incessant with want and need.  
  
And so it came as natural as breathing when their bodies finally joined and became one. The roaring fires flickered through Rini's veins as wave after wave of fervid rapture spiraled them upwards into an inferno heat as the man above her drove deeply into her welcoming channel. He echoed her passionate cries of ecstasy, interlacing the deep rumble of his voice with the feminine tones of her own.  
  
The gentle disposition of reality allowed them to rest, their hearts beating rapidly within the cavity of their ribcage, hard and slender limbs and clinging arms entwined intimately. Sated sleep evaded for precious moments, turning the quiet reality into peaceful dreams before Rini awoke again to those magical hands of Elios' caresses sweeping over her sensitive skin.  
  
Unfortunately reality intruded upon their paradise when Sarah chose at that time to come bustling into Rini's chambers unannounced, as she usually did early in the mornings. She had missed the young princess and their quiet conversations within the bedchambers while the princess was away scouting Paradise to chart the cycle. Sarah was looking forward to chatting with her this morning. She fussed here and there in her usual motherly tone about how the queen had already arrived at Elysium. The queen was presently demanding Rini's appearance at the compound and that Bark and Marilee were already waiting in the meeting room for her and Elios to appear. Rini needed to get dressed in a hurry and good Lord-she exclaimed and paused in her chatter. That no one could seem to locate the archangel, she continued in another long breath.   
  
It was at that particular moment, when Sarah's eyes adjusted to the din of the room that her gaze encountered a certain pair of familiar, out-flung wings, belonging to a particular missing archangel in question. Not only that, but he lay quite content within her mistress' arms in a most compromising position that left no doubt in her mind that she had just barged into a very, very private liaison.   
  
Rini gasped in startled surprise and then giggled in embarrassment as her eyes met Sarah's stunned gaze.  
  
Sarah squawked as if she had been singed by a burning match and fled the rooms with her cheeks flaming red. At the time of Sarah entrance, Elios' swollen shaft was poised to enter Rini's honeyed warmth. The muscles in his arms bunched and flexed from holding himself back from driving mercilessly into her. At the sound of the doors opening, Elios scrambled off of Rini, groaning in frustration, wondering in the process to himself if there was some conspiracy to ward him away from the lovely princess.   
  
"Ah God, will we be forever plagued by interruptions!" Elios growled lowly in his throat as he lay back against the pillows in frustration, staring up into the ceiling of Rini's bedchambers.  
  
Rini fell back atop his bronze chest, her arms encircling his broad shoulders, the ache burning within the pit of her belly, quite unfulfilled.  
Elios uttered the sound of a groan as he felt Rini's full breasts rest, innocently yet provocatively against his bare chest and then he stilled, taking in several deep breaths as he felt her hesitant, caressing fingers touch his wings. He was already aching to be inside of her, and now his blood boiled with feverish fire from her innocent stroking along his ruffled wings. He closed his eyes and felt the thrilling desire shudder violently through his body. God, but he loved her touch.  
  
"We could still..." Rini implored quietly, her eyes glowing with reddish hues, soft and not realizing how alluring her gaze appeared to him. Never mind that Bark and Marilee waited down the hall for their appearance. Or that her mother was waiting for her in Elysium, the back of her mind whispered. All that seemed to matter to her, was now and her time alone with Elios.  
  
Elios' hand shot out and he pulled Rini's face toward him for a slow, lingering kiss. "I would rather worship your body, Rini, than to rush through the throes of lovemaking. Make no mistake, my sweet," his voice deep, and hypnotizing, "the next time, no one will interrupt us unless the world is coming to an end." And with that he kissed her hard and thoroughly until he heard her moan in low her throat, before setting her gently away from him.  
  
"I will hold you to that promise, archangel," Rini replied huskily to him over her sleek shoulder that Elios' jaw fell at the lovely sight she made as she stood up from the bed, the white sheets entwined about her, her revealing curves like a tempting morsel.   
  
"You do that, princess," Elios finished with a wolfish grin. His leaned back against the bed, insolent and lazy before her, oblivious to neither his splendid nakedness nor the large, blatant display of desire he harbored for her.  
  
The woman with pink hair and impish eyes erupted into soft laughter before retiring her bathing room.  
  
  
Elysium, Paradise...  
  
Neo-Queen Serenity paced the elegant marble floors of the Evangelican Chambers, part of the household and clan's lounging rooms that belonged to the archangel they called, Ambassador Elios. She was quite impressed with the rich holdings as they nearly rivaled that of her home in Tokyo. She was given a brief tour of the mountain caverns at her arrival that held the Evangelical clan. The clan's dwellings, as she was told, were of the wealthiest and largest holdings on Paradise. There were close to a hundred members that lived and sustained the angel's clan in the mountain caverns and another two hundred or more inhabitants who lived at the base of the mountains in large, elegant buildings, making Elysium the largest and most prosperous city on Paradise. She was briefed on the other clans, which she understood were smaller clans and holdings, but still quite wealthy angels, whom protected regions throughout Paradise.  
  
Serena was quite impressed with the planet overall and the guardians who helped protect the world of humans against evil. She wondered if Rini was fascinated with the planet and its inhabitants as she was.  
  
There was something unusual and yet, familiar about the portrait of the archangel in the great hallways where other important angel portraits were hung. Serena pondered at the disturbing thought as she studied the regal posture of the angel. It was almost as if she had met him somewhere or at sometime in her past. Which should have been impossible, as the archangel's steward, Anthony pointed out to her that the Elios was the youngest of the past archangels. Only coming into his position the past two years hence and with the age of thirty in years.  
  
Serena met a young, beautiful woman with auburn hair and dark eyes of Elios' clan in the hallways of the large chambers during her tour and felt an immediate faint dislike for the young woman. Her name was Narcissi, and she was reportedly whispered to Serena that she would have been picked as Elios' choice for his Angelica, had it not been for the accident on Hades. Narcissi had slighted the Neo-Queen with her haughty airs and rude manners, by not introducing herself as a representative to the clan's functions and events and keeping herself aloof to the past events.  
  
Apparently, Rini had been on a special, secret assignment with the Union Nations Fleet when their ship was sabotaged and crashed off the shores of an island they called Hades. The Union Nations Fleet had kept the entire investigation under wraps, not letting any family members or communication be exchanged between her and her daughter and frustrating Serena to no ends.  
Serena had nearly screeched with anger and anxiety when she found out just these past few days that her daughter and the archangel had been marooned on the tiny island for nearly a month. Not only that, but that they were unable to penetrate this so-called Cycle that the citizens of Paradise claimed was barrier shield of some kind around the island. Even her own crystal, the Silver Imperium Crystal, had been unable to penetrate the natural shield of Paradise's most intrusive barrier.  
  
The angels reassured her that with the combination of her crystal, their voices and Rini's powers, that they would be able to breach the Cycle for brief moments to release her daughter and their leader. Serena hoped that it was true.   
  
Her frown dipped into her lower brow, the tightness in her chest swelling as she thought of her husband, Darien. She squeezed those rising thoughts of hysteria over his disappearance to the back of her mind, not wanting to dwell on the thoughts as she had for the last week since his disappearance at the London hotel that he was supposed to be staying at. When Serena had arrived, the following day after his departure, apparently the delegates, including Lady Alicia, were in an uproar over Darien's disappearance and having delayed the meetings between the nations as they tried to find his whereabouts.   
Darien had not arrived at the hotel to check into his rooms the night before. The limousine driver had been interrogated as well as all the delegates over the incident and still they were no clues to found over his disappearance.  
However, Lita, who was in charge of the investigation, had her doubts about Lady Alicia's innocent involvement. Serena was livid when she heard the news and had been ready to kill the woman. She now had spies, per Lita's urgings, watching Lady Alicia's every movement. Only time would tell, however, Serena was not ready to leave the fate of Darien's life in luck's hands and had decided to seek out her daughter's help instead.  
  
The Golden Crystal, combined with Darien's and Rini's own crystal, the Rainbow Imperium Crystal, would have been able to free Rini and Elios easily. Rini's crystal had been a complete surprise to the king and queen, never realizing that their daughter carried within her, a combination of both the Golden Crystal and Silver Imperium Crystal. The knowledge only came about when the Super Sailor Moon role was passed along to Rini a couple of centuries ago. But it was when all of the crystals of the same family were at its most powerful, were able to destroy an entire planet or planets for that matter, if such a need ever arose.  
  
Serena knew that was not the case, as the outer warriors had not visited her. Which would have surely been a sign of a bad omen. However, her disreputable thoughts came to an abrupt end, when communication was finally established between the coordinator of the island and the steward. Rini, Elios and the injured guard were finally waiting at the compound.  
  
  
Rini cried out with happiness and sudden relief when she and her group spotted the angels arriving in the air towards Hades' atmosphere. Within the flying group of angels, was Sailor Cosmos, her mother, Neo-Queen Serenity. Rini smiled joyfully, her heart swelling with love as she gazed at her mother, her eyes watering at the sight before her. She glanced at Elios and caught his tender curl of a smile on his lips, before he turned away to speak in low tones with Bark. Marilee came over and squeezed Rini's shoulder in reassurance, catching the sweet moment shared between the princess and the archangel.  
  
In the distant ocean waters, Dave and Javon sat in an old, rickety boat with an old motor still trying it's hardest to run. In another boat, next to Dave and Javon, sat the young guard who was still recovering from his injuries in the crash. Another larger, sleek boat arrived, with uniformed men awaiting instructions as to when pull the boat with the guard. When the Cycle's barrier shields were down, the men only had moments to the guard past the shield.  
  
The angels formed a perfect circle above the group standing in the sand, with Sailor Cosmos floating in the middle. Curious members of the Hades society and of the compound stood along the side of the building to watch a wondrous spectral that they knew they would never have the chance to witness again in their lifetime.  
  
"Are you ready?" Elios reached out and clasped Rini's small, delicate hand into his larger, darker one.  
  
"Yes," she nodded her head, squeezing her hand within his and feeling the comforting strength flowing back to her. Shimmering shivers of delight rolled down her back as he gazed fully back at her with those incredibly, mesmerizing blue eyes of his. And before she realized what he was going to do, he pulled her straight into his hard embrace in front of everyone watching them.  
  
"Remember to focus your powers with me," he said quietly into her ear, beneath the incandesce fall of her pink mane. "We will triumph over nature," only the two of them knew of the tantalizing kiss he placed on the back of her small earlobe. Rini trembled in response to his husky words, welcoming his warmth even as she flushed with pleasure from his blatant display of possessiveness.  
  
"I'm ready," she replied with soaring confidence as she pulled out of his arms, and stepping away from his intoxicating presence to stare upwards where her mother and the angels waited patiently for them. She knew that her mother was probably very surprised by the embrace of the archangel. She could almost feel the waves of astonishment rippling through the line of angels.  
  
Elios paid no heed to the amount of gossip he knew would erupt from his very personal display of emotion. He nodded his head in response to Rini's statement, admiring her lovely form in her Super Sailor Moon uniform that clung to the softly, rounded curves her body. The woman before him was just beginning to recognize her womanhood and the rising power that lay quiescent within her. Latently resting within her like some timid bird, but very soon those cessation of powers would awaken to reveal her true powers and he had a distinct feeling that today he would witness a glimpse of what was soon to come.  
  
And he smiled softly to himself.   
  
  
Stay tuned to Chapter 8! Lady M. Harris  
  



	8. Angel of the Night

**Moonlight Horizon**

Copyright © 2001 Michelle Harris

aka Lady M. Harris

[http://ladymharris.homestead.com][1]

[ladymharris@yahoo.com][2]

A Sailor Moon Romance Story

Elios and Rini Love Story

Chapter 8

Cerus…

Soft footsteps palpitated across the cold, dark marble and then faded back into the quiet of the night.The color of the marble was obscured by the lime night, making it impossible to see the tiny, intricate designs engraved on the edging of the imported, cut stones.Four moons reflected brightly against the dark, evening sky of the large planet.A crescent moon behind the fourth moon, added to the luminous effect.Two of the moons were in full glory and the night was exceedingly bright even to the inhabitants of Cerus.The city lights below the mountainous palace were bathed within the evening moons, blending together to create an almost daylight effect to the living.

The tall, willowy woman stood against one of the palace's tiered columns.Her stance was relaxed, quite reflective of her morbid mood.The warm, gentle breeze ballooned gauzy, gossamer curtains that floated about her figure like dancing apparitions.Her long hair, like the brilliant, burning solar sun, joined the curtains and swirled like a ghoul specter about her slim, naked form.

They called this woman Mandelhi, a priestess and a guardian of the magical world where only dreams were produced on a planet, they called Earth.A place forgotten by the humans but still preciously guarded against any harm.A place where faeries still existed, Santa Claus and cats secretly spoke like humans.

On Cerus, Mandelhi was a captive by his own, two hands.Confined to her duties that bounded her to Earth and yet, a captive to her own, betrayed heart that kept her on Cerus.Aaron acknowledged this, watching her silently from their bed.He sighed, his face hardening as thoughts strayed to his current predicament.His soul, all his life had been tortured, until now.Eyes the color of dark coal, stayed on the woman before him, never wavering, caressing and yes, loving on her peaceful form.He knew why she stood there, staring with those solemn green eyes of hers at the planet, Paradise.

Silk covers slipped from his trim waist, revealing angled hips, sinewy stomach and long, hard thighs.His long feet touched the cold marble, but he paid no to the coolness he encountered.His silent stride took him quietly to the young woman staring out of the palace and into the bright city the below them.Black feathers fluttered in his wake and his hair, the color of the darkest midnight blended effortlessly with the feathers, as thick and as silky as a woman's, swayed against his naked hips.

Mandelhi did not have to turn around to know that her lover approached her.She knew the beauty of his face, the ridges that formed the sharp angles of his cheeks, jetted arched brows, lips that were full and sinuous to match his dark, tormented eyes.Eyes that seemed to call to her own turmoil, but their purposes were of opposite and of stark opposition.And yet, she was here, standing in his room, naked as the day she was brought forth into the world, her fingers twining within his, as his warm embrace encircling her.

"You are not thinking of him again, are you?" Aaron asked, quietly.He liked the way her slight form seem to fit perfectly within his arms.

"You must let him go," she stated, simply, not bothering to turn around.This argument was old.But it was one that she could not forgo.And it was an argument they would continue to have for as long as the king was held captive under Aaron's orders.For the Earth king was her sovereign and she was his obedient servant by default.

"Shrine Maiden," he sighed again, frowning. He hated this argument.It was pointless as far as he was concerned.He would not budge from his standpoint and he knew she would not from her own.

"I do not trust that woman to keep her word.She wants something from him, something very precious," Mandelhi answered ignoring the title that Aaron used in their conversation, but she knew her words would prove fruitless as before.She had already pleaded the king's case before to him; she tried to explain her reasons to him, as she did not trust Alicia Woodward.Alicia wanted something from her king, something very personal and yet, she had not been able to figure out what it was that the woman wanted.Only that she knew with her womanly instincts that whatever Alicia wanted from the king could only hurt those who were precious to him.Alicia was not trustworthy enough to keep her word as she promised to Aaron that no harm would befall the king while under her guard.

"And what could be more precious than the scroll?" Aaron's full lips curved cruelly in what resembled a sardonic grin.

Mandelhi squeezed her eyes shut against the harsh words, the pain slicing against her insides.That was all he cared about!That stupid Golden Scroll, this senseless battle that would in the end, hurt so many.She knew this with all her heart, could feel it as well as she could feel the coolness of the marble floors beneath her feet.And whether she liked it or not, in the end, she did not want loose Aaron.She turned into his embrace, her cheek pressed against his chest.She could feel the steady beat of his heart, the warmth of his breath across her forehead.

"Why can't we just leave, Aaron?You and I.We can leave this place and never return!We can leave Cerus and no one would know any better," she pleaded, staring up into his hard face.She knew it was futile to plead with him, but never the less she still asked time and time again.

"Run?Runaway!I cannot!You know, better than I, what I was created for!" His arms tighten around her, as if to prove his point and to continually let her know that she was his prisoner.

"Aaron…" she whispered and cried out softly against him."Why? Why did I have to fall in love with you?"

"Because it was fated and you cannot resist me no matter how much you try." And with that said, he lifted her effortlessly into his embrace.Once more, his sure strides took him to their bed where he laid her gently against their pillows, carefully lifting her red-gold tresses that spilled their glorified length over the bed so that it did not hinder her in any way.So he could admire her luscious beauty.His body quickened with hot desire at the sight of her comeliness.

"Once the Golden Scroll is in my hands, Cerus will be free.To be allowed live like those of the human world, free to choose, free to love and free create new life.Future generations will prosper," he lowered his dark head, the curtain of his long hair trailing over them in a silky, smoky curtain.

And in his treacherous mind, free to obliterate his mind from the killings of the angels necessary to bring about the DNA transformation. They were killing not done directly by his hands but on his indifferent, and indirect orders.Nevertheless, they were orders acted upon his silent directive.His lips touched hers in a soft kiss, stilling his anguished thoughts.Instead, his mind marveled at the sight her perfect pink, crested nipple that peaked rebelliously against the chilly air, his hand reaching out to roll the aroused nub between his fingers.

"Tomorrow, we shall see about the king, for Alicia's games grows old and tires me and I will not wait another day.Will that satisfy you now, my pet?"

Mandelhi could only sigh at his covenant words, her body already arching into his hand, returning his fervent kisses with flaming kisses of her own.His words only made half sense to her, her body already in control of her emotions, aching to have him within her once more.Already he was reawakening those prevailing fires within her with just the touch of his hand, the soft kiss by an indentured curve by her belly or a gentle murmur of lovemaking words.Large, beautiful ebony wings lifted, the brushing, quiet sound could be heard above the soft sighs, their feathered warmth fluttering over them.And then the man was once more settled between the creamy thighs of the lovely creature within his hold; their bodies moving gracefully seamlessly like liquid silk.Raven feathers floated effortlessly down to the floor, forgotten and unnoticed by the engaged couple on the bed.

"So, you're finally waking," the familiar feminine voice said next to him.

Darien cautiously blinked his eyes to clear away the heavy fog that seemed to cling to his semi-conscious, dark oblivion mind.His head felt thick somehow, as if it were too heavy to be held up by his neck.It throbbed quite painfully, his tongue seeming to match the heaviness his head felt.After a moment of listlessness, his mind cleared somewhat and he was able to slightly lift his head toward the direction of the voice.

His mind dimly registered to whom the voice belong to and he immediately felt infuriated and betrayed that he had not recognized her façade until it was too late.

"Release me, Alicia," he commanded softly, coarsely.His throat felt raw and dry.He tried to pull against the ropes that tied his wrists to the bedposts, but of course, they wouldn't budge.Not that it mattered much, considering how raw and numb his hands felt.He wondered long he had been tied up this way on the crumpled bed.

"Uh-huh…" she drawled, laughing smoothly as she slid out of her chair."You can't order me around here, darling," she sat on the bed, her red, immaculate painted fingernails near his legs.

"What do you want from me?"He tried not to snap, his mind reeling with questions.Where the hell was he?How had he gotten here?What kind of game was Alicia trying to play on him, he wondered with boiling anger.There was going to be crap to pay once he got his hands on her pretty neck.And where in the hell was he, he asked himself again?The last he remembered was getting out of the limousine behind his hotel in London as was often common practice for royalty trying to avoid the public.The last time he was London, the crowd waiting for them at the hotel while they attended a social event given for the Prince of Wales mobbed Serena and him.That was one of the reasons why he took such great pains to avoid the crowds.

"I haven't quite decided yet what I want to take from you first…" she sighed as if contemplating a big decision.

"If it's the Silver--" he started, shutting his eyes for a moment as the room tips sideways and he tried vainly to a hold of his careening senses.

"Oh no, the Silver Imperium Crystal isn't what I want at all!" Alicia laughed throatily, her voice trailing away in the darkness of the cool room.Oh no, not at all.The Golden Crystal would guide them towards the Golden Scroll yes, for Aaron, but something else far more--much more exciting is what she wanted from the King of Crystal Tokyo.And it had nothing to do with crystals or power; she smiled inwardly with wicked glee.

Instantly, Darien's mind cleared of the dizziness and his head snapped up as he recognized the husky catch in her throat.It was a feminine sound, one that any predatorily male would have recognized with the opposite sex. His body grew still in stupefaction and paralyzing shock.Only with Serena he would have gladly surrendered to the provocative lure the sound meant.But with Alicia, his mind went cold blank.

"Actually," Alicia purred and leaned forward, her robe gaping open seductively, her full breasts swinging slightly from her movements, "I do want the Golden Crystal.If it will lead me to what we need.But only after," she paused significantly, daringly.

Darien blinked his cold eyes at her, his cheeks becoming red as indescribable rage began to seep into his veins.Too late did he notice that Alicia was dressed with nothing but a silk robe and that the room was seemed stifling and dark, with only one of Cerus' moonlight rays slanting through a small port window above his head.

"You can have the crystal, Alicia.I will gladly give it to you, if you will just release me," he stated through his gritted teeth.

"Oh I'm not a fool, darling!" Alicia shook her head, letting her blond hair down from its chignon hold atop her head.The blond tresses flowed down her back, enticingly.Any other man would have been charmed, or even turned on by the sight, but as it was, Darien was far from being amused by her tactics.

He was furious.

"But there's just one tiny teeny thing I want first and then I'll take the crystal, Darien, my darling," Alicia drawled, smiling slowly as Darien's dark brows drew together in a fierce frown.

"You're wasting your time," he stated slowly, tightly, on to her game.

"I think not!" Alicia laughed smoothly again, throwing back her head in the process."Most men are so easily aroused!All it takes is a pretty face and a nice body and the gander is willing and ready to go!" She leaned in close to his rigid face, smiling venally.

"You're sick," he stated disgusted, a cruel smile erupting across his lips.

"Perhaps, but we shall see you're reaction," she quipped back, angrily, having faltered from his last statement.She was not sick, just determined to get what she wanted.

And she wanted Darien.From the first moment she had laid eyes on the King of Crystal Tokyo, those many months ago outside of Madam Winsdor's boutique.She had burned, wanting him so badly.She had played all her cards, had dealt all her aces out and she planned on collecting her winnings very soon.She ignored all warnings that he was married to one of the most powerful women in history or that the woman was eternally, exquisitely beautiful and mindfully intelligent.

All this time, even after trying to lure him into her bed he had remained invariably, valiantly devoted that bitch!She had done her best to spread rumors around Tokyo, tricking the royal family into believing that Darien was having an affair with her.And still, knowing that Darien was barred from the queen's room, he had graciously refused her numerous invitations her bed.The man was totally loyal to that-that witch of a queen!How she hated Queen Serenity and her presence!

It seemed only fair now that Queen Serenity was about to lose this hand, for she was finally going to get Darien into her bed, even if it meant taking him by force, Alicia laughed inwardly.Most men would jump at an opportunity such as this and she knew instant victory at such a thought.God, but he was a fine looking male specimen, she shuddered delicately with anticipation of the night to come.

"You're wasting your time, Alicia," Darien stated quietly once again when Alicia stood up from her leaning position.

"Oh--we shall see about that," she said, releasing her robe.The silk material fell to the floor, pooling around her slender ankles.She stood before him in her nude form, her breasts full, the dark nipples erect from the still, cool air of the dark room that was his prison.

Lady Alicia Woodward was a very beautiful woman and any man would have been attracted to her loveliness on such blatant display.Darien gritted his teeth in seething anger, although his eyes told him she was beautiful, he had seen countless others just a beautiful as her and just as intelligent.

He felt like such a fool for not recognizing her cloaked beauty for a veneer of evil.He was surrounded by beautiful women all day long at the castle and so her beauty was no different the rest.His wife, who was exquisite beyond that of imagination, the Sailor Warriors and the women who served Crystal Tokyo were just as lovely.But the difference between his wife and her warriors were that they're comeliness went far beyond their skin layer.Lady Alicia did not even come close to matching the utter substance that was at the heart of their souls.

But the fact remained; she was not Serena.However, none other could satisfy his insatiable, unquenchable desire that he had for his own wife.He closed his eyes, seeing her as last saw her, with tears of frustration running down her smooth cheeks, her face flushed from their last kiss on the runaway before he took off for London.His heart swelled and ached for her, praying he had the perseverance for the night to come.

He shuddered violently, suddenly remembering another lifetime ago of another woman made of the same material and conscious thought.Two women, from different backgrounds and times, but how much Alicia's mind operated the same way as Beryl's did!They both wanted him, wanted to take him by force, knowing instinctively that the drugs they fed to him would weaken his powers and his mind from killing them instantly.Beryl had succeeded in her endeavors, but he'd rather die in hell before he let that happen again to himself. 

He loathed both women; the abhorrence and utter revulsion curled his insides as the thoughts took hold of his numb mind.If there were such a thing as gods, then they had created those two vile creatures, which were nothing but an abomination of humanity.

"So am I that beautiful, that you must force your gaze away from me?" Alicia throatily chuckled, mistaking his closed eyes and stillness for something else.

When Darien's eyes snapped open, she mistook the blazing hate that burned his eyes for desire, and continued to read his silence for acceptance of his situation.Instead, she got on the bed, smiling coyly as she straddled his hard thighs.When his silence continued, she reached forward and began unbuckling his trousers, leisurely, as if she had all the time in the world for a dally.

And still he said nothing, only the warmth of his breath feathering her neck like a silken caress as she continued with her task.

"Well now," Alicia gasped with appreciation, as her fingers encircled Darien's large member, "its no wonder the queen hoards you!"It was flaccid, but it was even obvious to her that when he was fully aroused, how large he would be.

Darien gritted his teeth, trying to will his body not to react to her caresses.But his body had a will of its own, and Alicia was very skilled with her hands.In a matter of moments, his flesh stood high and erect.He could not have controlled that part of his body, unless he had been born a eunuch.

But he smirked inwardly, perhaps having one more ace up his sleeve.Despite not being able to control his flesh - as he was only human - he knew that he could be a very skilled lover.More so than most men, he knew.He could not have made love to Serena, satisfied her, the way a man of his nature could, through out the centuries and not have picked up some useful bedside manners along the way.

There were countless times where he made sure Serena came again and again, while he did not, holding himself back as he greedily watched her release with the glitter of sensual male satisfaction in his lowered lidded eyes.It was one of his favorite pastimes, was to watch the world tilt and explode in Serena's eyes, as he would move deeply within her.Yes, it was exquisite torture for him, but the rewards whether they stemmed from within the king and queen's bedchambers or in the royal courtroom, far outweighed the sacrifices.

It was those very thoughts of Serena that kept his sanity now as Alicia moved over him, her body obviously trembling in her excitement.She was so lost in her self-absorb ness that she failed to notice how still the large body was below her or how Darien averted his face from her in an blatant attempt to withhold his manly dignity away from her loathing presence.Nor did she notice how hard Darien clutched at the dingy bed sheets beneath him, his knuckles white as it stretched taut over his skin.

"Oh darling, I can hardly wait," Alicia cooed breathlessly as she braced her thighs on each side of his own.She poised his member in one hand between her legs, while the other hand was anchored on his shoulders.Finally, she began to slowly descend onto him.

With his head still averted, Darien gritted his teeth, faintly acknowledging his mind's defeat to his willful body.

He bit his lips until he could taste the acrid taste of blood on his lips.

It was no use; he tried to rationalize with himself.He could not deny the fact that her body could arouse him physically, even against a will as strong as his own.No matter how much he tried to prove her words wrong.And that moment, he hated her even more than any other living female alive.

The door beside them crashed opened hard enough that it knocked one of the hinges loose from its fasten, and a booming voice plucked a startled Alicia from her perch above Darien.Bright yellow light spilled into the dark room as four bodies moved into the din room, voices talking all at once.

"I knew it," a light feminine voice accused above the deep murmur of the men entering the room.

"So it would seem you were right, Shine Maiden," Aaron replied, his deep frown on Lady Alicia who squirmed at his hold on her.His frown grew hard and menacing as his gaze encountered the king's refusal to gaze at his rescuers.

Mandelhi moved toward the king but Aaron intercepted her, shoving Alicia into one of the guard's arms instead."I'll deal with you in a moment," he growled low at Alicia, his cold black eyes showing no absolution.Even Aaron was shocked by the scenery displayed before him.

Darien kept his head averted, the humiliation deep as Aaron zipped his dress pants back up as if it were nothing in the world.His rage was silent and deep, his mouth thinned in displeasure. It was too much, as hot and cold tremors rippled through out his body.He refused to acknowledge the obvious truth.That again, he had let himself be nearly taken by another woman.To add more salt to his mental wound, it was now witnessed by other people.

"Take her out of here," Aaron ordered quietly to the guards once he returned his attention back to Alicia and the guards in the room.

Lady Alicia made a dive for her robe lying on the floor, all the while swearing at everyone.

"Leave it," Aaron roared, his temper flaring."You shall learn humiliation.And it shall be at the expense of others as you have done this evil deed.Have you no shame?" His raven wings quivered at the sound of his voice.

"You'll regret this, Aaron!" Lady Alicia shrieked in protest as both of the guards forced her back."If it weren't for me, you would not have his majesty."

"But this?" Aaron raged.

"You promised me anything!" Lady Alicia screeched, "and this is what I wanted!"

"I do not want to even begin to want to understand," he motioned to the guards."You make me ill, just looking at you."

Lady Alicia screamed, hurtling swear words at everyone in the room as the guards hauled her out of the room, naked as the day she was born.

Mandelhi came forward this time, laying her slim hands gently on Darien's shoulders.She began to chant a rose prayer.It was nothing more than a small prayer of gentle healing to lift the humiliation she knew he must have been feeling at the moment.How could she, Lady Alicia do such an evil and degrading thing to a man as proud as her king?

The chant gentled his raving soul and then the soft scent of roses filled Darien's head, and he reeled back from with shock once more.He recognized the ancient tongue of the chant and the scent of distinctive roses that drifted like a subconscious, forgotten dream.

A golden, gleaming palace shining brightly against a clear blue sky flashed before Darien's hindsight.A palace long overgrown with its own flaying garden of unambiguous roses, an ancient breed, breed for their vividly hardy character and delicate, heavenly scent.

Damask roses.

It was said that a couple of drops of the perfume from the Golden Gardens could costs thousands.Queens, princesses, and noble women of wealthy nature, traveled from near and far, bargaining their fortunes for a drop of the scent.For it was said that a dollop from the Golden Damask Gardens would bestow everlasting comeliness on anyone lucky enough use the precious scent.Indeed, for it were a known and a said fact that the women of the Golden Crystal Palace were forever bestowed with eternal beauty.

Darien knew this.

For the roses was a gift from his father to his beautiful queen, Persia, a millennium ago. It was in the palace gardens that the Damask roses flourished in abundance underneath his mother's caring hands.It was surely a breed of unknown origin and quality.There were a breed of roses that were not of this world.For the flowers themselves only responded to those within the palace that it received well.It was very well said that the flowers perceived kind women very well and tended to grow or even to shy obviously away from men.

For a long moment, Darien's own degradedness was forgotten and he was glad.Glad that he could seize on this moment away from his own deplorable state of wretchedness.

"You are of the palace?" He uttered in shock.

Mandelhi gasped, startled, shrinking back from Darien almost as if she had been stabbed in the heart.How could he know already!She was not prepared to answer him.

Aaron snapped his head toward her sound of anguish, his dark brow already fierce.

"Yes," she answered over Darien's groan of disbelief.She wanted to deny it, but she could not lie to him, he who had her sworn allegiance.

"Where is your twin, Manalani, Shrine Maiden?" Darien pursed with dispensing stage shock.He was remembering.Remembering his childhood of thousands of years ago, a childhood of another lifetime.It seemed so ancient now.His head was already beginning to clear since this Aaron had Alicia removed from the room and that he had another problem to focus on.

"You have a twin?" Aaron came to stand beside Mandelhi, his body taut with dread.He could not believe that Mandelhi had not told him of her twin sister.

"Oh God, yes, I do, Aaron…I meant to tell you but not before…" her eyes fell away from his condemning dark eyes and then she stared at Darien with tears filling her vision.

Aaron turned away with thundering frustration and punched a gaping hole into the wall behind Darien's head.

"What is she to you anyway?" Darien barked, startled.

"She's my captive, like you!She's protecting you and her sister and who ever the fucking else!" Aaron roared back.

"What do you expect?" Darien demanded."I would have done the same thing had I been in her shoes."

"No, you would have expected loyalty from the one who claims to love you!From the one person you call your lover!" Aaron shot back, his angled face twisted with frustration.

"Stop this!" Mandelhi cried out, the tears now rolling down her smooth cheeks.

"You're right, this has to stop now.For your king must know what I want from him," Aaron smirked as he shrugged Mandelhi off his arm.

"I do not have the Golden Crystal with me, if that is your intent, dark angel." Darien answered cautiously, still jolted by the last piece of news.

"It is not the Golden Crystal I desire but the scroll," Aaron quipped back.

"The Golden Scroll?What for?" Darien gasped back, having forgotten of the papyrus paper until now.It was in existence, but seldom seen or heard of.Only those of the Golden Crystal Palace and those were a select few, had known of the priceless parchment where magical words of unknown wisdom were written in pure spun gold by the ancient scholars of Earth. 

Darien had seen the scroll once, but he remembered now why.

"This scroll is to be protected and guarded by your most trusted servant," Darien's father had once warned."It holds the key to life as we view the world now.This key is different than most of what we know.For now, the scroll is useless to us for we are alive.There will come a time in the world when man will pursue the meaning to this life and then the scroll will become the most wanted commodity to the future."

"Where is it now, father?" A young Darien of ten asked.

"Elios of the Ezekiel House holds the scroll now," Darkus smiled down into his son's eager face.He ruffled the youngster's shiny black hair knowing that he was too old now to show such affection, but unable to resist the temptation anyway.

The young Darien balked as he expected.

"Daddy!Not in public!"

"Alright son, I'll try to remember," his father answered back, a smile splitting his incredibly handsome face.

Darien grinned."But father, Elios is just a baby.How could he hold a scroll?"

"The scroll is protected by the pureness of his star seed, his heart.He is destined to become your most loyal servant.His position will rise someday to be of equal worth to your station.But as far as we know, it will not be within our kingdom."

"But I don't get it, father.How will the scroll be released?" Darien's small face pursed in deep thought.Darkus wanted to laugh.

"Your crystal, and the Silver Millennium Crystal are one of the keys that will help release the scroll." Darkus answered quietly.

"You mean the crystal that belongs to the Queen Serenity's daughter?" Darien's pursed his lips, thinking at the time that Lady Serena was a completely annoying girl. She had those silly balls on her head like her mother, but secretly he thought she was a pretty girl with pretty blue eyes and a smile that could make your heart do cartwheels.Certainly, no other girl could capture his and his friend's attentions than when Serena was in town visiting the Golden Palace.

Darkus nodded, his mind already a thousand miles away, wondering what the lovely queen was doing at the moment.

It had been nearly seven years since Persia had passed away. 

A year ago, he had met the beautiful Queen Serenity at a small soirée and was instantly enchanted by the graceful lady.Under a moonlit night he was able to steal a kiss from the highly reserved queen.And from the kiss had lead to a night of passion that Darkus could hardly forget.His one time lover, standing beneath the arbor of a softly, scented rose garden, bathed in only moonlight and dancing stars.Of silky limbs, golden tresses ofthe sun and silhouette kisses pressed against his hot skin. 

Only the memories of Persia could rival the one night he had had with Queen Serenity.However, her commitment was to her young daughter and to their kingdom, which Darkus could entirely understand.Being he was in a nearly identical situation with Darien.

"There is only one that I know who knows the whereabouts of the scroll," Darien admitted.

Mandelhi gasped, her body utterly still.Surely he would not…

Darien stared hard for long moments at Aaron, measuring the man, silently.If Mandelhi was his lover, then there was more to the man than he believed, Darien pondered.

"Well, I'm waiting," Aaron grounded, his teeth clenching from the wait.

"The scroll is guarded by my most trusted servant," Darien began.

Mandelhi's eyes grew wide as Darien continued.It could not be!All this time!She never knew.

"He is a Dreamweaver, a Dreamkeeper, and a Guardian to the Golden Shrines of Elysian on Earth," Darien continued noting the alarm on Mandelhi's face.

"He is gone, your majesty!" Mandelhi cried out in anguish, jumping up from her position, unable to keep silent any longer.How could he not have known?

"What do mean?" Aaron snapped, "What do you know?"

"Elios is my most loyal and trusted servant!The one who guards the Golden Scroll!" Darien finished, staring at Mandelhi."What do you mean by gone?"

"He is gone.One day, Manalani and I were at the shrine singing our usual prayers.Manalani went to search for Elios because he was late.It wasn't like him to be that way.When Manalani took so long returning, I went in search for her and Elios.I found Manalani by the Lake of the Golden Woods crying, and in her hands were Elios' clothes.A canary perched on a nearby tree beside us and began to sing.And what we heard pierced our hearts," Mandelhi related.

"Christ, this sounds like a frigging fairytale," Aaron grumbled.

Darien ignored the barb.

Mandelhi shot an annoyed look at her lover and took a deep breath, saying, "This is what the canary told us":

Winged Guardian, Golden Heart

Heaven's Son Reborn.

Under a distant star,

Righteousness goal.

Moon Daughter, Rainbow Heart

Love's blossom in full bloom.

Nurtured under a bright star.

In Compassion's garden, passion's bower.

Heaven's Son, Moon Daughter

King and Queen of Hearts

Call to the hidden,

Uncover the greatest treasure.

In the depths,

Two hearts unite

Call forth the key,

Of the Universal Soul.

"What the hell does that mean?" Aaron blasted in frustration.

"My God!Moon Daughter--Rini!" Darien drew in sharply.His heart felt constricted by sudden fright for his daughter.Dear Lord, he did not want her involved in this!

"Your daughter is the Princess Rini?" Aaron pursed, his rushing anger subsiding briefly.The Moon and Earth princess was reportedly marooned on that hideous island they called, Hades with…with…Elios…good God, could it really be?No, no, it can't be that easy.Could it?

Mandelhi came to the same conclusion as Aaron at precisely the same moment.She swung towards Aaron knowing by the dawning of knowledge crossing his features that they both had come to the same belief.

Elios of Elysium of the planet Paradise was also the Winged Guardian from the canary's fated message.Elios was taken from Elysian only to be reborn on another world.Thus fulfilling part of his destiny. 

"What do you know?" Darien snapped, rushing against his tied wrists toward Aaron and Mandelhi.

Aaron smiled slowly, knowingly.

"Elios of Ezekiel House and Elios of Elysium of the planet Paradise are one and the same, your majesty," Mandelhi whispered, shaken by what she finally knew.All this time, she was here on this planet, and Elios was only another planet away.If only she had looked there first, instead on Cerus… He was reborn a guardian again, only this time for the humans that lived there.How was she or anyone else to know that Elios would retain his name on Paradise as he had the name in Elysian, Earth.

"The Winged Guardian!Oh that's rich!"Aaron laughed heartily.

Mandelhi stared at him with something akin to slight horror.

Darien was perplexed, his face turning dark.

Aaron explained, "The planet Paradise is protected by a legion of superior humans called angels."

"I know, for I sit before one now, although I don't believe you ever came from that same domain," Darien snapped, "what the hell does this have to do with Elios?"

"Everything and you are right about the latter!" Aaron chuckled, his mouth twisted sardonically.He could tell that the Earth king still did not comprehend the entire issue relating to Aaron's world of cyborg.It was no small matter now, for he would learn soon enough."For decades I have been searching for the Golden Scroll, only to find out now that is has been within my grasp had I known where to look.To think that my brother, the Archangel of Paradise carried the precious Golden Scroll within him! Oh certainly, I have been nothing but a complete fool."

"The Archangel of Paradise is your brother?" Darien shook his head perplexed by the startling findings.This did not seem real at all."But you aren't from the same planets?"

"That's so true," Aaron lifted his arm and peeled away his thin, black glove from his hand.Then he proceeded to pull back his skin on his arm.

Darien grimaced, sure that the angel was in pain.But Aaron's face remained emotionless.Only a small smirk appeared, making its way slowly across his lips as he garnered the king's reaction.

Mandelhi had a sad look on her face, almost as if she were resigned as she gazed back at her lover.

"You see," Aaron paused as Darien's eyes grew huge, his gaze riveted to Aaron's arm, the protruding skin was bloody, but within the arm where there should have been muscle and bone was steel and electricity."I was once completely cyborg.My creator developed me in the exact image of Paradise's Archangel, Elios.Except for my black hair, wings and eyes, I am his identical twin.But it was his DNA that brought me to conscious life.Because he is an Archangel, extracting DNA from him did not kill him.That is not so true of the other angels.But because of Elios' DNA, my sperm can produce children," he smiled cruelly.

Darien glanced meaningfully at Mandelhi and she nodded hesitantly, tears welling back in her eyes at her confirmation.

Aaron made a sound of impatience.Of course, he would never admit to Mandelhi's king how much the precious life that grew in Mandelhi's stomach meant to him or his kind.

"Do not think that her participation was unwilling, for she consented quite easily to me," Aaron stated roughly, his gaze narrowed to slits.

Mandelhi gasped in embarrassment, her cheeks fusing with color.

"You are the source for all the problems between Paradise and Cerus?" Darien could not believe that he sat before the perpetrator of all the problems between the two feuding planets.

"It is not a problem!" Aaron snapped."It is the only recourse that we can take as cyborgs.My people need the angels' DNA in order to repopulate.Unfortunately, a few angels were killed in the extraction of the DNA.It is not a perfected technique."

"But you have not stopped the capture of the angels!" Darien snarled.

"I do not encourage it either," Aaron lashed back, stepping away from Mandelhi and Darien.His ire was tenfold, who he to judge him?"I tire of this conversation and wish to see some action."

Aaron motioned toward his two silent guards, forgotten and hidden between the shadows of the room.Listening and waiting for the command of their leader.

"Untie him and clean him up.Then join us at the ship.Dispense Lady Alicia back to Earth.I have no wish to see that deplorable wench again," Aaron grabbed Mandelhi's arm, ignoring her slight protests as his wings snapped wide."Come, my sweet, for we must prepare to meet my brother.What a sweet reunion it will be for you and your king," Aaron chuckled sarcastically.

Stay tuned for chapter 9!Lady M. Harris

   [1]: http://ladymharris.homestead.com/
   [2]: mailto:ladymharris@yahoo.com



	9. And Then There Were Stars

Moonlight Horizon

By Michelle Harris aka

Lady M. Harris

Author's Notes: After nearly a year from fan fiction writing, I'm back for a short while.   A new quarter starts for me this January, and then writing will become nearly impossible again.  Sorry that this is taking forever, literally, I know to finish this.  But it is finished, at least in my mind it is, I just have to get it on paper.  Sorry, there is no real romance going on here, but this is an epic and shortly, the romance will reappear.  I'm already working on Part 10, so don't despair – read on if you dare!

Lady M. Harris

Part 9

Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there

Just like a muse to me, you are a mystery

Just like a dream, you are not what you seem

Just like a prayer, no choice your voice can take me there

--Madonna

"Ready?" Elios asked once again as they neared the perfect circle of angels floating effortlessly above them.  

"Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be," Rini nodded her head, her mouth parched dry.  She glanced briefly at Marilee and Bark and a felt momentary pang of sadness.  Sarah, with her warm, kind eyes and even Denise, looking quite happy at her departure stood on the beach watching their attempt to leave the island.  It couldn't diminish the paltry feeling she was having of leaving behind such extraordinary people behind to fend for themselves.  She was certain that her and Elios would succeed in their endeavor, but she also knew that she was going to miss the people on this so-called hideous island that the planet Paradise deemed as Hades.  Hideous indeed, she thought bitterly, they were wonderful people!

"Wait for my queue, then come to me," Elios instructed, forcing her mind back to their task.  He hesitated for a moment, as if just remembering something important, he then instructed her again, "if you don't know the words to the song that will be sung, just hum along."

"Okay," Rini smiled slowly, nodding, not quite sure what to do.  This sounded interesting, she thought to herself, curious now.  She wondered briefly if she would recognize anything that the angels sung.

Elios chuckled deeply, stretching their joined hands out as he centered themselves into the circle of angels.  She clearly had no idea the significance of the song or why he had asked her to hum a tune she might not know.  In due time, in due time she would learn, he mused, determinedly.  And then he closed his eyes slowly, shutting out the rest of the world around him, the beauty of the woman who stood before him, the island and its people and even those that served him, floating above his head waiting for him to begin.

With their hands still joined, Elios began to sing.  The sound that emitted from deep within his chest and vibrated slowly like rumbling thunder startled Rini from her reverie like a person just awakens from a long, slumberous sleep.  The sound traveled from the tops of her shinning head and down to the tips of her toes that wiggled in her high top boots.  Everyone around her fell away and all she could do was watch and listen, mesmerized by the glorious sound of the Archangel's voice.  It was magnificent, reminding her of a morning Perch singing its heart out to anyone wide awake to hear its call; like that of a new day, with the rustic, fiery morning rays of the sun dawning brightly against a clear, crisp golden sky.  As for the man, it reminded her starkly of their last time together, when he had thrown back his head and roared her name triumphantly against the cavern walls; her own feminine cries of ecstasy intermingling with his own.  She remembered the shafts of piercing desire crashing over her as he spilled his seed deep within her womb.  As his song grew in strength, so did those images of their sensual night spent together until they burst within her and splintered like flints of flaring flames of fire sputtering to life.  The words wrapped intricately around her inner most being, making her arms quiver and her limbs turn into molten jelly.  As Elios rose into the air, his wings beating furiously like those of a humming bird, Rini relinquished her hold on him, and quite suddenly felt bereft and quite alone.  But the feeling didn't last for very long, for as his song continued it's silky climb in almost warrior-like melody, so did his rise into the sky.  When Rini raised her face toward the circle, her heart nearly tumbled out of her chest.  

How magnificent he appeared to her!  Was it any wonder that she could not catch her breath at the sight of him?  How she knew that every other female present thought the same as her?  How could such a wondrous man with his lineage want with a person such as her?  She wondered silently as she gazed back at into his piercing eyes.  He watched her patiently, like that of a parent waiting patiently for a child to take it's first baby steps.  He nodded, barely noticeable to anyone but to them, and Rini knew that the signal had been given for her join him.

She threw back her head, feeling the long mane of her hair whip soundlessly against the stirring of the air before her.  Her small sailor wings of white, spread themselves wide and lifted and then parted again like a graceful dove and Rini found herself launched into the highly charged air, as Elios' song continued to wrap itself solidly around her.  As if on queue, and although she didn't know the words, she began to hum along with Elios.

The sound was clear but only to Rini, for the music that Elios created was awe-inspiring.  Her humming spiraled upwards like a tightrope toward the awaiting angels preparing to join Elios' song.  The angels were momentarily thunderstruck for here in the depths of Hades; where they waited as if in battle to strike down a Cycle, an Angelica had just proclaimed her intentions.

Sailor Cosmos, Neo-Queen Serenity could only wonder at the angels' startled expressions of shock as they and herself watched the archangel and her daughter in fascination.  Something of great significance had just happened and she had no idea what it was or if Rini was even aware of it.  

Rini, however, only had eyes for the archangel.  Serena had never seen her daughter look so lovely or so in charge of herself.  Tears of joy and pride had nearly spilled from Serena's eyes at the sight of her daughter flying towards the archangel.  She would have never dreamed in a million years that her daughter would choose such a fine-looking man of means and dignity.  She only wished that Darien could see their daughter now and how much she had grown up into the wonderful person she saw before her.

Despite the shock from the angels, they did not falter from joining the song.  How could they when Elios' hard gaze dared them to do otherwise?  And when the melodious voices of the seven angels joined Elios, their voices grew in strength until that was all one could hear.  

With her hand stretched forward toward Elios' out stretched hand, Rini felt a momentarily shimmer throughout her being.  The dormant power within her seemed to double as it hummed along with her, surrounding her, enfolding her like that of an awaking flower.  Rini was dumbfounded as pink electricity sparked from her hand like fire ready to erupt.  She glanced up at Elios above her, startled by what she saw and knew that he had seen the power within her building, ready to erupt like an explosion.  He nodded again, his hand still stretched out, waiting for her to take it.

She took his hand and the power within her pulsed forward like a gigantic firework ready to explode.

And then something incredible happened.  

Time stood still.

The Cycle encapsulating the island of Hades shimmered blue electricity like a half dome over the island.  The pink bolts of power from Super Sailor Moon's own inner being only tempered the blue power.  Those who stood on the island were frozen in place as those in the sea and in the air.

            Rini stared in shock at Elios as she came to float silently before him.  No one moved but her, why was that?  He floated before her like a glorious statue and Rini resisted the urge to caress his face.  And then before her own widening eyes, within Elios chest, a sheen of a ghost arose, clutching to what seemed to be a golden scroll within his arms to his own chest.  For a moment, Rini turned away from the glowing glare of the scroll.  It had nearly blinded her at first sight.

            "Elios!" Rini gasped out in utter bewilderment, recognizing him from her childhood.  For a moment, the faces of the Archangel Elios and Elios of Elysium seemed to merge within one another before separating once again.  The faces, man and boy from her dreams!  She finally recognized them for what it's meaning was after all these years.

            "Super Sailor Moon," Elios acknowledged, faintly.  The smile on his face glimmered, softly, in the background of the pulsating energies.  "It has been a long while, has it not?"

            Rini could only nod, her throat dry.

            "Alas, I regret that it had to be this way."

            "This way?  What do you mean?  I don't understand, what has happened to you?" She burst out.  "How can you be two persons at once?"

            "I'm not," Elios smiled slowly this time.  "My time grows short here, and I do not have the strength to tell you.  So instead, I will show you," he raised his hand and opened the golden papyrus still clutched with in his arms.  Blinding, warm golden light spilled forth like bubbling froth and engulfed her within moments.

            When Rini finally opened her eyes, she gasped in astonishment, for there, before her was the younger version of Elios, as she remembered him long ago, still a part of  Dreamworld and still a part of Earth's lost world.  Earth's lost world that she knew naught of, and yet, she seen the numerous landscapes in her dreams.  Vaguely, she realized that she was watching a scene before her that had already come to pass.  His hair was as she remembered him, nearly white; his gentle eyes their soothing amber color.  He stood before the Golden Lake in the Golden Woods, gazing into the calm waters, deep in thought.  He was not too far from the Golden Shrines, where Manalani and her twin sister, Mandelhi awaited his return from singing his praises to mother nature.  

            However, Elios' face was still troubled, for singing the enhancements no longer gave him the satisfaction he craved.  He could do no more for the lost world, Manalani and Mandelhi could manage the shrines and keep Dreamworld as it was meant to be.  He had more to give, he just knew, he thought with frustration.  The encounter in Rini's world had opened his eyes to what he should be doing and he had long since believed that something else, something bigger than Dreamworld awaited him over yonder.

            At night, he dreamt of a world full of rocks and deep, blue oceans, of soaring skies and the wind whistling against his ears.  Faces of people he did not know crowded his mind and his dreams at night.  Where once on Dreamworld people lived and the King of Earth ruled with a gentle hand, but now only a handful remained tending to the shrines.  And Princess Rini, ruby eyes gleamed back at him in his dreams and he knew somehow that his destiny awaited him in those eyes of hers.  But what was he to do?  He had no answers, and lately, his dreams were more frequent than normal.  He had escaped to the Golden Lake for a reprieve from his own turmoil thoughts, only to find out that he had stepped eagerly into fate's plan.

            The Golden Lady of the lake arose out of the calm waters to gaze upon the young, trouble man.  Elios had never seen her before, but knew that she was the guardian of the lake.  Like most things in Dreamworld, she was a mystery that most knew little about.  Her beauty was ancient and legendary as was the fathomless, blue eyes that gazed back at Elios.  She was wrapped in her own, long golden tresses, while silver droplets of water clung to her shimmering skin.

            "You've been summoned, my young priest," the tilting voice called out to him like a siren.

            "Summoned by whom, Gealida of the Golden Lakes?" Elios stepped closer.

            "It is bad manners for me to say.  You must speak to him yourself.  You will come with me, Elios of Ezekiel House.  The time has arrived," she stretched out her hand and motioned towards his clothes.  "You will not need those where you are going," she added, disdainfully.

            A blush erupted on Elios' face, but he disrobed as she requested.  He left his robes in a neat pile by a large boulder.

            "Come," she urged him quickly, as he stepped into the waters.

            He shuddered when his feet touched the cold waters, but the coolness went away the instant Gealida gripped his hand.  She pulled him deeper into the waters and wrapped her arms around Elios in a tight embrace.

            Rini, still engrossed in the scene before her did not realize that she grinded her teeth at the image before her.

            "Relax, my sweet poppy, I will not hurt you," Gealida replied softly, when she felt Elios stiffen her arms.  She looked up, ignoring the young man for moment even as he began struggling.  A golden canary perched on the nearby trees watching the Lady of the Golden Lakes and the young priest.  For nearly a half a second, they gazed at one another as if communicating in some way.  Finally, the bird chirped and then flew away and Gealida returned to her task at hand.  "No more delays, Elios," Gealida stated as she swooped down and captured Elios' mouth in a kiss, her hand reaching forward to cup his chin, meaning to stay him.

            A moment later, Elios grew still and lay limp in the lady's arms.  They descended into the waters and Rini tried to not to lash out at the image.  They disappeared, and for another moment longer there was nothing before her.  Just when Rini thought that that was all there was to the story, which didn't make any sense to her yet, a new image began to form.

            There was the Lady of the Golden Lakes, Gealida, still holding a limp Elios in her arms as they ascended from the calm waters into a place that Rini did not recognize.  There were large boulders everywhere that were red with symmetric lines of yellow and orange deposits within the rocks.  Red sand banked the waters.  There was only one green bush hanging just short of the water.

            A large swooping sound that Rini immediately recognized as wings, but what didn't make sense was that it sounded like the thunderous beat of many wings.  Her answer appeared as a tall man of great beauty and understated grace, appeared to be landing on the red, sandy banks of the area she was viewing.  Behind him must've beat a thousand wings!  Amazed, Rini leaned in closer at the image.  The man was dressed in shimmering white and purple robes and golden tassels tied the robes in place about the man's hips.  When he landed, his many, great white wings folded neatly behind him and Rini realized foolishly, that there was not quite so many wings as she first thought.  However, there were more pairs of wings than she could rightly count.

            "I bid you good day, Gealida of the Golden Lakes," said the musical voice of the angel.

            Gealida nodded her head with great respect.  "And so you, Archangel Raphael, Angel of Powers and Angel of Knowledge and finally, one of the seven angels who attends to His thrones in the 7th Heaven."

            "I will relieve you of your burden, my lady," the archangel nodded his head in acknowledgement, locks of chocolate brown hair falling over his broad shoulders.  His ancient, keen gaze of misty green missed nothing, especially the limp presence in the lady's arms.

            "He is young and will likely be scared," Gealida sighed, the waves of the water taking her and Elios to the archangel.

            The Archangel Raphael did not answer for a moment but held out his hand as if beckoning to the lady.  His gaze turned hard and inscrutable as he stared down at Gealida from his lofty position on the banks.   She was even more beautiful than he last remembered her.  This was their first contact since their last parting nearly five centuries ago.  How time seemed to have stood still for her.  There was a softness and sadness about her now that had not been present in her youth.

Gealida sighed, softly.  The sound echoed throughout the small, enclosed area and the archangel's eyes grew wintry.  Would it always be like this with us, Raphael, she thought with great sadness and everlasting regret.  She remembered a time when those incredible willow leaf eyes of his showed passion and love—but what was she thinking! That was centuries ago when the world was too young to know it even existed and when Raphael had been willing to forsake his God to become human for the love of a mortal goddess.

"He will not be as you will see.  He will understand.  That is why I am here myself.  I trust no other within my domain to guide him to safety," the archangel answered, his gaze showing nothing but serenity now.

            Elios' eyes fluttered open at the sound of the voice.  He took a deep breath and snapped his amber eyes wide open.  His breath shuddered in surprise, a face of great, ancient wisdom gazed back at with eyes the color of a warm, spring day in a green meadow.

            "Elios of Ezekiel House, and of Earth's forgotten Dreamworld, we do not have much time.  But it is up to you, for only you must accept what He has ordained for your new future," the archangel spoke.  

            "I don't understand.   You're speaking in riddles to me," Elios lifted his head up, clearing the last of the haziness from his mind.  The lady of the Golden Lakes relinquished her hold on him.  He stepped onto the red sandy bank, already forgetting the presence of the lady of the Golden Lakes and stood before the angel as if waiting for judgment.

            "Because you carry the Golden Scroll within your star seed, you must give us your permission to be reborn, child," the archangel stated, simply.

            Stunned, Elios could only stare at the angel before answering.  "I am to be reborn?" 

            "Yes, to the Lady Rachael of the Azoic tribes and Angelica to Paradise's current archangel," Raphael answered.  He did not embellish the fact that Lady Rachael would die giving birth to Elios or that his father, the Archangel of Paradise also would succumb to death six months after the birth of Elios during a flight accident, which would surmount to five deaths, three of Paradise's angels and two humans.  Raphael could not reveal such things that would come to pass as he could not have forsaken his position with the almighty for a mortal goddess.

            "Why?  I don't understand," Elios asked, still in shock.

            "It is for the simple fact that you are special, Elios, and that is why you have been chosen to carry and protect the Golden Scroll.  Your destiny has never been with Dreamworld; it only shares a fraction what has been altered by fates.  Will you accept your new path and be reborn?" The angel urged, quietly.

            "If it must be so, then it must be," Elios answered, amber gaze wide and trusting.  "I will accept this new life of mine."

            "So mote it be," Raphael placed his hand on Elios' forehead and the young man went limp again.  The archangel caught him before his body could slide to the ground and into the waters.

            "I bid you farewell, Archangel Raphael," Gealida spoke up softly, almost forgotten in the intense situation.  "Take good care of him."

            "And you," Raphael answered, and for a moment, Gealida caught the regret in his eyes and her heart ached.  It would ache for an eternity or until the world came to an end, it would seem, she thought.  And then she disappeared into the waters, never to be seen again to the archangel.

            In the archangel arms, Elios' body became shiftless, like a startling apparition.  Rini could only gasp as she could finally see Elios' star seed.  And there, encircling the precious life force like a relentless, twirling bird was the golden papyrus, the Golden Scroll.  It glowed with a life its own.

            "The Golden Scroll is the key to life, Super Sailor Moon," the archangel now spoke to Rini.  Stunned, she could only stare back, speechless, her mouth gaping open like a fish.  "You must protect the Archangel Elios of Paradise and you must protect the Golden Scroll until the time arrives for its use," the angel declared to her.  Then he raised his magnificent wings and was gone from her vision.

            "Waaait!" She screamed.  What was it she was supposed to do?  How was she going to protect Elios and the scroll, even as she thought of the questions, the words died in her mind.  

The spectral Elios waited for her to return to reality.  As her eyes focused on the ghostly image before her, she watched with amazement as he closed the scroll, abruptly cutting off the soft, warm golden glow and then held it again to his chest.

            "The power builds within you, Super Sailor Moon.  Soon, you will use it to protect him," Elios stated, smiling softly with the shimmering lights around them.

            "You speak as if you aren't a part of each other.  I don't understand," Rini shook her head.

            "We are two different individuals," Elios sighed as Rini shook her head in denial, not wanting to believe him.  "When the scroll is released, I will merge as one with him, and our memories will become one, but I will no longer exist.  And even if we were to merge, there is no guarantee that he will remember my former life.  He," indicating the archangel of Paradise, Elios added, "is stronger than I will ever be.  That is the price I must pay for being reborn into your world and for loving you."

            "Nooo, there must be some other way.  But I will know, Elios!  It won't be fair!" Rini gasped out.

            "You will not remember any of this, Rini.  Only what you need to know," Elios whispered softly, his image wavering white before her widening gaze.  Before she could retort a response, he eased back slowly into the archangel's chest and already Rini's memory clouded at the sight.  "Take his hand again," he whispered urgently to her.

            Without thinking, she did as she was told and the power that pulsed at bay within her, hurled thunderously through her and the Archangel Elios like a crashing storm, one a bolt of electrifying pink blast and the other, a bolt of white lightening.  The Cycle crackled and creaked like that of ship overbearing its heavy weight.  The pulsating blaze of pink and white power converged and stripped the Cycle of its tendentious hold on the island before finally releasing its inhabitants.  The sound was deafening, like that of a powerful roar, as sand scattered and the waves surrounding the island slashed viciously against the sandy beach, before the waters finally calmed.

            When Rini opened her eyes, Elios, the archangel floating with her, was staring in silent shock all around them.

            "What did you do?" He asked, stunned.  His azure gaze was wide with shining admiration and something else.

            "I don't know.  All I remember was being told to take your hand and that our powers combined, something incredible—our powers," she stated, softly.  She could still feel it, her powers resonating through out her body.

            The crowd below them went wild with cheers and laughter.  Those in the waters sat gazing with shock as the uniformed men pulled the injured guard onto the deck of the sleek boat, but now without haste.  Dave and Javon still sat in their rickety boat, soaked from the slashing waves from earlier and waving their arms partly in shock and partly in jubilation.  

            "Do you smell it, Rini?" Elios asked, knowing she did not.

            "Smell what?" She queried in bewilderment.

            "The Cycle, sweetheart.  It's gone.  For nearly a century, it has encapsulated the island," he answered slowly, allowing the significance of his words to settle in her.  "But now, it's gone, completely."

             Her mouth opened and closed in stupefaction.  But she somehow knew that she hadn't done it alone and that Elios had been part of the magic.

            "Mother!" Familiar lilies and roses engulfed Rini as white feathers floated delicately around her.  Soft arms embraced her and she laughed with joy as her mother engulfed her in a fierce hug.

            The seven angels joined them in the air and all around them a reunion of sorts took place.  Rini had never seen such a beautiful sight.  Two young, pretty angels embraced Elios, squealing like teenagers.  Joyous laughter and exclamations of happiness greeted everyone within the tight circle.

            After the happy reunion, everyone agreed to meet back in Elysium.  There, they would meet in the Evangelican Chambers.  The sleek boat was already speeding away with the injured guard toward the mainland and most of the Hades inhabitants mulled around the sandy beach already wondering – some with mixed feelings and apprehension and others with excitement about what was going to happen to the island that was no longer enclosed off from the rest of the world.

            News of the incredible event on the Hades island had already reached Elysium by the time Rini and the rest of the party reached Elysium.  Rini had never seen the caverns of Elios' headquarters.  Unlike Hades, every modern trapping was seen everywhere.  Elysium was also spacious and luxurious like no other palace on Paradise.  Golden etchings of wondrous carvings of angels and man, a telling of tapestry graced the tall, hallways of the caverns.  Large paintings by famous artists hung on the walls while large slabs of muted creams and beiges of marble graced the rest of the large holdings.  Everywhere Rini glanced, something priceless and beautiful held her attention before her gaze moved on in its continued exploration.  Servants and visitors crowded the caverns, but everyone seemed to be in a state of celebration for the return of their favored archangel.

            Here, Rini was separated from Elios as he became engaged in greeting those who stood patiently waiting for his return.  While he was other than engaged, Rini was shown to her luxurious, appointed room.  Though smaller than her room at home, it lacked for nothing in comfort, furnishings and extravagance.   She was just gazing out of one of the portholes that were her window after inspecting her room for no more than five minutes, when there was a loud knock on her door.

            "Rini," her mother stood on the other end of the door, her usually blue eyes so bright was now stricken with worry and something else that Rini immediately recognized as fright.  She glanced quickly at Elios, who stood immediately behind her mother, his expression grim, his mouth taut.

            "My God, what is it?" Rini burst out, grabbing her mother's trembling hands.

            "It's that madman, Aaron—the one who's been hunting all those angels," Serena choked out.  "He's got your father!  He'll exchange Elios for your father!"

            "What!" Rini cried out, her gaze wide, her heart twisting painfully in her chest as her gaze flew to Elios'.

            He nodded grimly, confirming the bad news.  "That's not all.  It seems that the Union Nations Fleet now has Cerus completely surrounded with warships.  Weapons are drawn and Paradise is now on full alert.  We are standing by for war."

Stay tuned for Part 10….Lady M. Harris.


	10. Heavenly Confrontations

**Moonlight Horizon**

**A Sailor Moon Love Story: Rini and Elios**

Copyright @ 2001 – 2004 Michelle Harris

Aka Lady M. Harris

Author's Notes:  Here it is, another belated and long overdue chapter.  I know it's taking me forever to write this, yeah, real long.  A lot of new characters introduced in this chapter, but they are only making brief appearances.  Sorry for the confusion it may cause you, especially between Paradise Elios and Earth's Elios.  I know his name is supposed to be Helios, but I learned Elios first, and Elios it will stay for now.  Anyways, you may be wondering about the references between the Almighty and the Angels of Heaven.  It's only a story, and I'm not making any claims to any kind of religion.  Please be kind and just sit back and enjoy the ride.  If this is not your cup of tea, please hit the back button.  Forewarned – self edited.  Read on if you dare!

Lady M. Harris

Part 10

            The shuttle ship touched down on Cerus' barren, dry land.  Another smaller shuttle ship already sat, banked near a large, series of red boulders before them.  Behind the small ship, in the distance, arising from what seemed like steaming heat, were numerous, large sleek skyscrapers.  The cities on Cerus never seem to sleep at night and in the harsh day light; it gleamed meticulously like those in Earth's large metropolitan cities.

            Super Sailor Moon, Princess Rini stood silently next to Sailor Cosmos, Neo-Queen Serenity and Paradise's Archangel Elios near the shuttle's docking bay.  Behind Rini stood Captain Tyron Maxwell and Colonel Jane Jackson, both from the Junketeer Command Ship.  They were ordered by Commander Alexandria to accompany Rini, Serenity and Elios during negotiations with Cerus' leader, Aaron. 

Rini had been pleasantly surprised to see her colleague Tyron join the excursion and that he had been promoted, and quite frankly, rather quickly to the ranks of captain.  The last time she had seen him and Jason had been when they were first assigned to the Junketeer.  She learned briefly that Tyron had actually been an integral, leading team member investigating the sabotage of her transporter ship crashing on Hades.  The investigation had lead to a series of arrests to three airmen, quickly identified as spies from Cerus' national armies of cyborgs.  Both Captain Tyron and Colonel Jane had been patiently waiting in Elysium for her and Elios' return.

Tyrone returned her curious gaze with a telltale wink and a flash of white teeth against a very tanned and handsome face, avidly aware of the archangel's glittering gaze drilling holes into his uniformed back.  If it weren't for Narcissi catching his roving eyes back at the archangel's holdings, he would have seriously considered contending for Princess Rini's hand.  As it was, it seemed that the archangel had already laid claim to the beauty.  Course, there was not a word said officially, but then there was heavy talk already that Princess Rini had openly and lavishly proclaimed her intentions as an Angelica to the austere archangel.  Such headline news traveled fast even for a small populated planet, however this was supposedly purely speculation from his standpoint or what was whispered among the several holdings.  

Still, had he been in the position to petition for the princess' hand, how could he even have thought that he could compare to the powerful figure standing with such blatant ease beside him, he chafed, wincing at his pride and inwardly chuckling at himself.  It was no wonder that Narcissi had thought herself in love with the archangel for years on end.  And still, even to this day, considers herself beholden to Elios, never mind that that she had explained to him, and quite patiently – let's not forget the sarcastic tone she used either, he might add, that she had been borne and trained as a prized candidate to marry the Archangel.   Just about every single and available woman in the archangel's holding was in love with the man.  What it must be like to be in the shoes of this archangel with every conceivable beauty at your beck and call, he thought ironically.  

He sighed and nearly laughed at his internal thoughts.  His mirth died the moment his gaze collided with the archangel's agitated scowl.  He suddenly realized how inappropriate his thoughts were, when it seemed as if they teetered on the edge of an all out war.  It figures that he would find their situation amusing, how very like him, given their positions.  His face grew stern again and he erased all thoughts of Narcissi and the Princess Rini from his mind and focused on the situation on hand.

The doors of the shuttle swooshed opened quietly and the harsh light of the glaring, afternoon sun, the grinding heat and dust particles of dirt kicked up by the doors opening silently greeted Rini.  A strangled cry erupted from her mother, startling everyone in the process by the abrupt sound.  Rini turned in the direction of her mother, watching with apprehension as her mother struggled forward past her and the guards.  Across the ways, Rini immediately understood the sound of distress from her mother as she stared at the shock of inky black hair and the familiar face that she knew and loved.

"Daddy!" She strained forward, mimicking her mother.  The reaction violent to the site of her father with his hands bonded before him like some refugee or prisoner.

"Stay back, Rini!" Elios grabbed her arm, restraining her from her goal.  

"But my father!" Rini gasped out, still struggling forward.  Her eyes grew wide in disbelief as they settled on the angel standing close to her father.  "That man!  He looks like you!" She stated with shock, her gaze swinging back to Elios.  
            Queen Serenity stopped sobbing to stare back at the man holding her husband in custody.  "Explain this!" She commanded, her face teary, her lips trembling.  Rini's arms went about her mother's shoulders to offer comfort.

"Looks are deceiving!" Elios growled his gaze hot and flinty, daring them to say anything more.  "We are nothing alike.  I am flesh and blood; he is made of machine.  Do not ever forget that."  He turned away from them both, and that was all he was going to explain for now.

Elios' lips thinned, a visible tick emerged on his cheek as he stared at the progression ahead of them.

            His scowl deepened, his gaze growing hard with each passing second.  He did not recognize any of the men or the woman standing next to Aaron.

            But he knew Aaron very well.  Watching Aaron was like looking through a distorted glass mirror.  The fact that Aaron carried the same identical features as him irritated him, although they shared the same identical looks; nether resembled each other's thoughts or actions.  It was a stated fact that when Aaron was created, he was fashioned in Elios' image the same way Earth's deemed Almighty had supposedly fashioned man in the image of God.  However, the human who had created Aaron didn't want the latter to be confused with the first.  One was created as the sole protector of the planet Paradise and its inhabitants while the other was created as the protector of the cyborgs.  By any means possible, it seems for the cyborg protector.

            Aaron and his posse of vagabonds had captured Elios himself once.  At the time, Aaron was the leading cyborg warrior in the early days of setting himself up as sole ruler of Cerus.  The shock of staring up into his own face quickly eroded into deep rage as he realized Aaron's intent at the time of capture.  Early experimentations were being conducted on captured angels in hopes of securing a prosperous future for the fledging cyborgs on Cerus.  For a while, extracting DNA from the angels seem to work and apparently didn't pose no threat until the angels started become ill, then die inexplicitly a few days later after becoming ill.  The doctors on Paradise traced the problems to the captured angels that were returned back to Paradise after spending a horrid amount of unknown days on Cerus.  Even Elios had been uncertain how much time he had spent on Cerus, having been smuggled and drugged during nearly all of his capture.  

At the time of his capture he had been in the process of gathering petitions from the outlaying towns and cities to put an end to the angel captures.  Because towns are small and scattered, word spread slowly and it wasn't until their own Archangel had been captured did the people of Paradise then know the seriousness of a threat to their world with their guardian unavailable to protect them from harm.  When their own representative could not elude the ever sly Cyborgs they knew then something had to be done.

An all-out decry and protest was staged at the capital on Cerus, delegates from Paradise and the surrounding planets were in attendance, including the ever-increasingly powerful planet, Earth.  Powerful assemblies gathered in strong force to protest and attest to the cruelty inflected on the angels and, of course, Cerus pleaded innocent to the accusations.  Forced to bow down to the more affluent planets, Cerus pledged to stop all angel captures.  Although Elios was quite skeptical of Cerus' pledge and seriousness, he could not ignore the fact he and Paradise were publicly given power to punish Cerus in the event that their treaty and contract were proved to be null and voided should Cerus go back on their word.

Although both planets had signed the contract, Cerus instead, went underground to obtain angel DNA.  Fortunes traded hands as cyborg mercenaries came to Paradise undetected by the newest and most sophisticated technology that made them virtually impossible to be found by Paradise's systems.  Although the captures had temporarily slowed down, thereby decreasing the disappearing population of angels; they had never really stopped.  

The cause and effect result was essentially in relation to Aaron, the ruler of Cerus and his indisposed neglect to stop the hunting feed.  The one same man/cyborg who now stood directly in Elios' path.

"That's far enough!" One of Aaron's gunmen shouted to Elios' party.

"We meet again," Elios began, his voice ringing deeply, the violence in him held in check for the moment.  "I can't say that it's a pleasure, Aaron."

"Unfortunately for you and yours," Aaron barked of sardonic laughter as his gaze alighted on Rini for a fraction, "the pleasure's all mine," he paused, then added, "again."

The effect of his words showed nothing on Elios's face except for the visible tick on Elios' cheek.  

Rini could not keep the gasp of anger from escaping from her.

"For the Lavender King, you will take me as an exchange?" Elios' words were a statement as opposed to a question.

"Yes, you see, had I known that all this time you harbored the Golden Scroll—all of this," and to prove his point, he spread about his elegant arms in sweeping sprawl from his body, "all of these needless angel captures would have never happened."

"Now I know you go off the deep end," Elios scoffed, surprised by the turn of conversion.  "The Golden Scroll is nothing more than a mythical legend handed down from generation to generation and brought to Paradise and Cerus from Earth to impress little minds."

Something familiar about the Golden Scroll struck Rini and she turned toward her mother slightly, questioningly, but at the same time, trying not to attract unnecessary attention.  Queen Serenity could only wonder at Rini's puzzled expression.

"That is where you are wrong, O Archangel of Paradise," Aaron mocked.  He grabbed Darien by the sleeve and brought him forward, bound and all.

Queen Serenity almost cried out again, her heart in eyes for her king.  Rini's gaze grew fierce and frantic at the treatment of her father from this so-called angel. 

"Ah, isn't that sweet?" Aaron's hearty laughter rang out, "A family reunion!"  He tried vainly to ignore Mandelhi's pulsating anger at him.  Her delicate elfin face was infused with red color, her pretty eyes blazing with heat.

"If you are not going to listen to me and insist on going through with this—stop playing with these people's hearts and get the scroll," she whispered furiously under her breath.

Aaron ignored her, his ears turning red in the process for he knew that the Lavender King had heard their whispering.  However, nothing on his stony face indicated otherwise.

"Fine, whatever you want!" Elios agreed against Rini's sudden protesting outcry.

"No!  There must be some other way.  I won't have it, Elios!" She grabbed at his arm.

"I won't risk your father—I'll be alright," he stated, suddenly gently, his gaze grew soft at the site of her distress.  "I've been in worst situations than this."

"If you take him, then you must take me!" It sounded ridiculous even to her ears, but Rini shook her head in denial anyways.  She struggled in vain against the sudden tears that threatened to erupt from her eyes.  

"This does not concern you, Princess Rini," Aaron answered with a slight drawl of boredom.  "As I stated before, your father will go free if Elios agrees to come with us," he smiled chillingly.

"You can't have Elios and you will release my father, by order of the Moon Kingdom and those that represent Earth!" Rini declared majestically, her voice ringing true and clear as she stood her ground next to Elios.

Her answer to her proclamation was jeering laughter.  Rini's lips thinned at the grating sound, her heart swelling with escalating fear.

"I'll tell you what, Princess," Aaron mused, his gaze glittering as he slowly pulled from his waist a long and wicked blade.  The blade gleamed brightly under the harsh of sun to those who watched Aaron's sudden change of tactics with wariness.  "Why don't you show your pretty princess the other side of you, Elios?"

Rini glanced up questionably into Elios' hard face.

"Gladly," Elios agreed without the slightest hesitation at this new challenge.  A small, cynical smile lit across Elios' lips for a moment, before it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.  "As you know," Elios began as he raised his opposing hand, palm up and raised his other above the turned up hand.  A warm glow began to emit from the raised palm.  "Super Sailor Moon, Princess Rini is a soldier in her own right.  As is the others who help preserve what is called the Earth and Moon Kingdom.  That is why they call her and her kind the 'Pretty Sailor Soldiers'.  She would not object to the other side of me, Aaron."

The collection around Elios gasped in awe as he began to slowly pull a sword from the outstretched palm.

"Nay," Elios paused, his gaze glittering with satisfaction, "she would but, embrace me as one of her own.  I am, after all, a guardian as well as a warrior for the planet Paradise.  But you know all this, my brother. "

"My God," Darien breathed, speechless.  "I thought the Sword of the Almighty was just a myth," he said to no one in particular.  "It is thought to be part of the mystery that surrounds the Archangel Angians of Paradise.  Particularly the mystery of how they attained such a sword."

"It is no myth, your majesty," Mandelhi added, her voice intense, "however, no one has ever had the privilege of seeing it used.  Until now," her voice trailed away in break-taking awe at the site before her.  The others standing beside her, gaped as well.

The sword was of rare size and of oddly compelling beauty.  A golden aura seemed to be radiating from the fearsome blade.  The large blade was five feet in length; the gilded hilt etched pearly white with intricate, ancient design adding almost another foot.  Only the most powerful of warriors could have wielded such a weapon.  Elios held it, nary an effort on his part, even as his muscles rippled with affect, gripping it from its current perch.

"From the ancient oracles of writings from Earth, even before our time, the Sword of the Almighty existed," Mandelhi began again, never taking her eyes off the gleaming blade.  "But the how the archangel attained it had nothing do with scientist team who engineered them." 

"It is nothing more than a hand-me-down!" Aaron snapped, growling.  His eyes narrowed with blazing anger, the dark pupils dangerously flashing in their direction for silence.  Both the priestess and the king turned away from the burning rage.

"Whatever you say," Elios paused, his stance rigid and now positioned before Aaron.

Before Rini had a chance to protest, Elios and Aaron moved forward, flowing like the wind itself.  Swords clashed, ringing loudly in heady sun, the onlookers feeling useless in the background but to watch the two, magnificent soldiers of equal size and power.

Aaron seemed to fight with the strength of ten angels, his logic misguided, thoughts filled like a madman's, but in the back of his mind, somewhere, he knew that he was doing was wrong but somehow felt helpless but to fight on, if not for the nation of the cyborgs that had entrusted him to protect them by any means possible, but for the child that grew steadily within Mandelhi's womb.  

They surged forward, parried, flew back, their wings beating rapidly and grunting sounds emitting from their throats as they surged forward once again in a lethal battle of strength and mind. 

However, Elios was by far more skillful and stronger than the other, and it seemed that their battle was turning in his favor when Aaron—always clever, and always the survivor, reached beneath his garb and drew from it, a small, but lethal dagger.  Rini saw the dagger before Elios did.

The dagger surged downward and would have struck directly at Elios' heart had not Rini leaped forward at the last minute in a startled scream of denial.  Swords struck their targets, as did the dagger. The dagger slid harmlessly off of Elios' arm as he shrugged it away from his body, leaving only a small, dark line of blood in its wake.  As the swords bared their weights forward, an undetermined amount of staggering power erupted from Super Sailor Moon, Rini.  

A huge ray of flowing, pink power radiated from her being, from her silent scream and her startled eyes poured a white, powerful beam of blazing light.  The glowing beams of power eclipsed those around them, blinding everyone in the process.  At the same time, an apparition, Elios of Elysium flew out from the chest of the archangel, the Golden Scroll and its contents of life, suddenly opening for the first time in eons, feeding its own swirling, glittering bright gold beams of light into the light that poured from the sailor soldier.  

The crushing sword from Aaron pierced into the papyrus paper, its sharp end seeming to sink into the scroll, but never being seen.  However, the archangel collapsed against the unbearable, burning pain slicing through his body despite Elios of Elysium and Rini's best efforts to stop the blade from penetrating his body.

The sword of the archangel's glanced deeply into Aaron's shoulder, but it skipped his heart in the process.

Rini was incoherent, as she came to.  She heard sobbing, and it sounded like a male's voice but she couldn't identify to whom it belonged to.  Where she stood, seemed hollow and strangely quiet as if death and something else waited abounded in the shadows of where she stood.  Then she saw the fallen figure before her and she cried out in stunned disbelief, running to Elios.  

"Elioooos!  Noooo!" She screamed.

Beside her stood Aaron, holding his shoulder in obvious pain as blood began flowing freely down his arm, sobbing and chanting his fallen brother's name.  The apparition, Elios of Elysium was floating in the wings, silently watching, judging, and still holding the entrusted Golden Scroll within his arms, Aaron's sword still impaled within its petal folds.

"What have you done?"  Rini screeched as tears flowed freely down her face.  She lifted the archangel's head into her lap, blinded by the tears; she could barely see his face.  But his eyes seemed to flutter awake.  He was growing weaker by the moment, a tenuous grip on his soul only held in check by the impaled sword in the Golden Scroll.

"It was never meant to come to this!" Aaron answered her, looking from her to Elios of Elysium.

"What did you expect?"  Elios of Elysium answered him.  "But you know how you can right this, don't you?" He asked the angel of night.

"I do," Aaron nodded, the knowledge flooding him, suddenly filling his being with an unnatural calmness.

"What do you mean, Elios of Elysium?" Rini asked, suddenly alarmed by the change in Aaron's face, it seemed to suddenly grow determined.

Aaron ignored Rini's question, but Elios of Elysium answered her instead.

"You have guarded the Archangel of Paradise well, as could be expected from someone who had no idea as what guarding the Golden Scroll meant, Super Sailor Moon, Rini.  But your duty has ended," Elios of Elysium paused and with it, Rini felt a sense of hope and dread at the same time with his words.  "The Golden Scroll is the Scroll of Life, and in these folds of delicate paper, bargains have been struck with the Almighty and Lucifer.  It is only one of the many things that the scroll is capable of, my dear."

Rini stared at Elios and Aaron in shock, hearing this, the enormity of this knowledge that only those part of the church have been preaching since the man placed his first step on Earth and many other planets weighted down on Rini's sense of surprise.  Certainly this did not seem real.

"It is time to release the scroll and return it to its rightful masters where humankind will not try again to pursue its all encompassing power."

"I am in agreement to the Golden Scroll's binding Seal of Life," Aaron added mysteriously, his face softening at the thoughts of Mandelhi and their unborn child surfacing in his mind.

"What ever are you planning, Aaron?  Whatever it is, it can be worked out!  I don't like the sound of where this conversation is going!"  Pulling the archangel's face gently close to her bosom, Rini's alarm increased tenfold as the Golden Scroll within Elios of Elysium arms began to glow more brightly than before.  A soft breeze caressed her cheeks, slowly drying the tears that had streaked her face earlier.  

"No," Elios of Elysium answered her.  The gentle breeze picked up in speed turning the soft fluttering into sudden gales of forceful winds.  "For the bargain has been struck and the Golden Scroll of Life has accepted the terms presented," he nodded towards the angel with neither disapproval nor approval showing on his solemn face, above the chasm of the wind.  It was just, just that.

Ancient voices, both at once loud and quiet, from the past, present to the future arose from the Golden Scroll as a sheet was torn magically from one of its turning pages.  The page floated above the glowing scroll and with it came a golden feather and golden ink well.  The feather came to float before Aaron, leaving a glittering trail of gold dust as it moved.  The ends trembled delicately as it waited for a final response.

"No, please, Aaron!" Rini yelled.

"It has to be this way, the only way," Aaron stated softly, kindly as he began to write his full name on the binding paper.  His hands were surprisingly steady.

"What did you bargain?" Rini whispered, but already knew the dreaded answer.  And her heart filled with sudden, deep sadness as her mind crept towards the young priestess left behind in the wake of the battle.  She knew with a woman's instinctive ness that the priestess had been in love with Aaron.

"He has exchanged his star seed for the archangel's!" Elios of Elysium answered again for the angel.  His voice rose, now the Golden Scroll glowed once again brightly, swirling, as Aaron's figure suddenly grew shadowy.  His star seed began to emerge from the cavity of his chest, its beams of light even brighter that the scrolls.  His body collapsed in a fallen heap before the floating, Golden Scroll.  

Doves seem to appear in droves, flapping their graceful wings in flight as if coming to guard the angel of night.  They surrounded Aaron until there seemed to nothing but the soft, twittering birds and their flapping wings.  Then magically, the birds quieted and flew away, leaving nothing but feathers in their wake.

Rini gasped in stunned amazement as the apparition Elios began to solidify, but not quiet fully as she expected.

"The exchange has released me!" Elios of Elysium shouted with unrelenting joy as the darkened star seed of the Elios the Archangel exchanged places.  This had been an unexpected turn of events.

Rini felt a sense of unreality, tears once again streaming down her face.  She was filled with happiness and sadness all at once.  She stared down into the once more healthy face of Elios.  No longer was it ashen, the color was fast flooding into his high cheekbones.  His breathing was now regular; the blood that had been flowing between her hands had stopped and was now drying, appearing nearly black against his vest.

Now a shifting opening appeared behind the glowing scroll.  An immense, golden and pearly gate stood in the background of the opening.  Its tall and intricately carved rails gleamed a luscious polish; it seemed encased in thousands of creamy pearls.  A tall figure stepped gracefully through the opening.

The mysterious figure nodded at Elios of Elysium as if they knew each other.  Elios of Elysium smiled brilliantly as if the whole world had gone topsy-turvy.

Rini tried not to gasp, for here was a man of stunning, raw male beauty, but in a sort of by-your-leave rugged way.  Startling, Caribbean blue eyes gazed back at you with articulate intelligence over sharp, slanted blue-black eyebrows.  His hair was a riot of matching, gleaming thick waves down and over his muscular, broad shoulders and almost to his trim waist.  His sharp, classical nose accentuated his high cheekbones and his sensuous lips that were ironically twisted into a half smile of seemly careless indulgence.  This rest of his supremely fit body was encased in black, lovingly worn leather clothing.  Black horns like those of a ram, adorned his magnificent head.  

Instantly, Rini thought of Elios and how often she had seen the same type of smile hover on his lips and her stomach did flips-flops that seemed to clench at the muscles as her gaze flew back into the face of the archangel.  Tenderly, her fingers caressed his angular cheekbones with care.

The man came forward and lifted the archangel effortlessly out of Rini's trembling arms before she knew what was happening.

"Damned inconvenient, this is," he muttered to himself.

For a moment, Rini could only blink, not quite understanding the grumbling as she sat back on her rump.

"I-I know you!" Rini could only stutter out, stunned again by the knowledge suddenly flooding into her mind.  It was as if a wealth of knowledge, like no other was flowing though her.  It was as if she had passed into another dimension of life and death.

"We're too close to the Pearly Gates, that's why," the mysterious man answered as if reading her mind.  And maybe he was. "We've got to get going, young man," he spoke to Elios of Elysium.

Rini was still staring at the man holding the archangel Elios as if his weight was nary but afterthought.  "You're the Fallen Archangel Astrides of the 7th Heaven sector!" Rini could only mutter with a sort of dawning of knowledge.  It was coming to her in droves, this new knowledge of unknown wisdom.  Fallen Archangel-it explained the absence of the over abundant wings that normally applied to the heavenly archangels.

"Really," Astrides answered as if bored, amusement alighting his amazing eyes.

Elios of Elysium grinned.

"Yes," Rini began, following the now retreating back of the fallen archangel.  She never took her eyes off Elios in Astrides' arms.  They were walking away from the glowing scroll and the supposedly Pearly Gates.  Another one! She thought with amazement again.  Another archangel to contend with, she thought.  Her gaze watched warily at how the fallen archangel handled Paradise's archangel with sturdy hands.  "Yes," she began again, "you are in contract with Lucifer and the Almighty.  They both own you at the moment.  Like a sort of quiet struggle between Heaven and Hell."

Astrides grunted, not bothering to answer her.

"First Lucifer owned you and now since you seemed to have repented – sort of," Rini tilted her head in confusion.  "The Almighty has been given rights to you as well.  You are on a mission," she stated, understanding the complicated situation-sort of.

Lucifer had assigned his second general-in-command, Fallen Archangel Astrides to return his pure, innocent daughter, the third and youngest dark princess of Hell.  Princess Sade of the underworld must take her rightful place as one of his three Princesses of Darkness and Princess to the Witches.  However, Sade was an innocent and pure at that, with no prior knowledge of her lineage or of her real father.  All innocent souls belonged to the Almighty before they became tainted with the knowledge of life and the Almighty was holding a tentative claim to the Princess Sade, despite Lucifer's quiet rage of the claim.  A struggle between the Heavens and Hell had begun a fortnight ago. 

The contract between the Almighty and Astrides was to guard Princess Sade's virginity and innocence against her father's wishes of her returning to the Underworld and becoming the Bride of Satan, Lucifer's first command general, Fallen Archangel Satan.

"This is your second mission," Rini answered some of the questions that were on the tip of her tongue.

"Glad you came to that conclusion, my lovely," Astrides drawled.

Rini went red at the endearment, and promptly decided to ignore it.

"You interrupted my journey to Earth," Astrides continued.  "We must return back to Cerus before the influence of the Pearly Gates takes a hold of your own star seed.  You have a lavender pearl on the gate, your entry by the way, but it's not your time yet."

Somehow, incredibly she understood what he meant.  That was why they were leaving.  She glanced back behind her, Elios of Elysium walked beside them, silently, almost forgotten.  The Pearly Gates and the floating Golden Scroll were slowly becoming smaller in her view.  

She glanced into the hard face of the fallen archangel and incredibly there was something she knew that neither him, Lucifer or the Almighty knew—that Astrides would succeed on both of his missions, but not to what any parties ever dreamed!  And when she glanced into Elios' seemingly, perfect sleeping face, she knew, knew without a moment's doubt that he was going to recover from his wounds!  And then in her mind's sudden, dawning knowledge she saw---!

She gasped out in surprised bafflement; there was so much sudden joy in her vision that laughter nearly bubbled out from her.

"Seeing the future is usually one of the side affects to those who belong to the living," Astrides answered her, glancing side ways at her.  "The effects will linger only slightly longer after you reach the living world, and then it will fade.  Like the effects of a wonderful night of drinking," he laughed, sardonically.

"It's just so strange, to be able to see future," Now it was Rini's turn to glance sideways at Astrides.  What she knew—it was strange that she seemed to know so much about what was about to take place and what already had taken place—was that the 3rd and youngest Princess of Darkness would be the greatest challenge for the ageless, fallen angel.  He would unexpectedly and almost fatally fall in love with the dangerous and undeniably, beautiful Dark Princess.  A turn in events that neither world understood was coming.  Rini resisted the urge to chuckle.  She understood that she would not remember this much when she returned to the real world, but never the less, it was very intriguing to say the least.  It was pretty amazing that in such dire straits, here she was trying to resist chuckling when a moment ago, her heart felt like bursting in wretchedness and agony over the near loss of Elios.  

Her thoughts sobered at the sudden remembrance of the dark angel, Aaron as they came upon the sight of those huddled around his fallen body.  Sadness overwhelmed her as she stared at Mandelhi's weeping form, holding Aaron closely within her embrace.  Her mother and father were frantically combing the area for her and Elios along with Captain Tyrone and Colonel Jane and the guards.  Everyone at the scene seemed to be temporarily at loss for direction.  Apparently, she and Elios had disappeared.

"Well, this is where our journey ends," Astrides stopped some distance away from the small crowd.  "As you probably have guessed already, you and Elios have disappeared from your battle."  He turned toward her and then back toward Elios of Elysium who had solidified in form while they walked away from the Pearly Gates.

Rini let out a gasp of bubbly laughter and ran towards the young man as he opened his arms.  Behind him grew his own set of numerous white wings and small ram-like horns on his head.  His small arms enclosed around Rini, his soft scent of cinnamon enveloping her.

"Funny," Elios grinned up at her from her bosom, blushing profusely, almost startled by his reaction to her closeness, "but the last time we hugged I was bigger than you." 

Rini laughed as they pulled away from each other.

"Being an angel, doesn't make you immune to the charms of a beautiful mortal woman, my friend," Astrides chuckled.  "In fact, it greatly intensifies the temptation."

"I will miss you, Elios of Elysium," Rini stated, ignoring Astrides' comment, still smiling.  "I'm assuming that you have passed judgment now."

Elios of Elysium nodded his head, confirming, "I will be formally sworn in at the Pearly Gates.  It seems like I will continue to be the guardian of the Golden Scroll, for it awaits my return at the gates.  But remenisiants of my star seed are still within him," he jerked his head toward the sleeping Elios.  "There will always be a part of me in him so long as he lives."

"Thank you," questions clouded her eyes, "but it still has not solved the problem on Cerus."

"Cerus never needed the scroll in the first place," Astrides answered her.  "Aaron became fixated on its power and never took a closer look at what he had before him."

"But I don't understand—"Rini began.

"Once Mandelhi came with child, the Golden Scroll had already fulfilled its destiny," Astrides began, "It's like when life first came to Earth.  All was one and then there were two sexes.  Abnormality is good and is bad, but in life as scientists are always boasting of, it is alive and well everywhere in the universe – and life is about abnormality, differences in the patterns of every day normality.  Mandelhi is not the only person on Cerus with child—with a cyborg child anyhow," he explained.

Eyes wide with disbelief now, Rini glanced from Astrides and Elios of Elysium, who nodded, confirming Rini's thoughts.  "You mean this struggle could have been prevented?"

"Call it whatever you like, but I have a mission to attend to.  Elios of Elysium has to be sworn in and you and he,"he nodded toward the archangel still limp in his arms, "have your own lives to continue.  So I will hand this heavy burden back to you, but before I do that—"Astrides grabbed Rini's arm and pulled her toward him.  "I will take my prize for saving your ass and his---"and fully kissed Rini's gaped mouth.  A wad of desire seared through her stomach and Rini fought the moan that nearly escaped from her throat.

"If you were not already claimed by him," Astrides murmured into her startled eyes and blushing ears, sending delicious shivers down her spine, "I would possess you myself."

"No man, archangel, fallen or otherwise, owns me," Rini whispered as her senses came back, her gaze falling on Elios of Elysium's sardonic small smile before finally resting on the archangel Elios' sleeping face. "You better be glad that I didn't slap that silly grin off your face."

Laughing heartily, his face more handsome than humanly possible, Astrides placed the archangel Elios into her arms and then pushed her away from him abruptly.  Saluting her, he said, "then I wish the best of luck to the both you!  You're going to need it!"  Stepping back, he grabbed Elios of Elysium, who waved frantically at her with a grin splitting on his handsome face.

"Wait!" Rini screamed out, her limbs collapsing beneath her as the weight of the archangel brought her down to her knees.  "Is there anything else that I should know?"  She yelled out at the sudden deafening sound of swirling winds around her.  Suddenly she was back on Cerus' barren, camel-colored dirt.

"Yeah!"  Astrides turning toward her once again, his clear blue eyes wickedly glittering back at her, "you won't remember any of this!"

"I know that already!" Rini yelled back at Astrides with frustration.  Astrides and Elios of Elysium were beginning to fade from her sight and she was already having a difficult time remembering why.  Sounds of her mother, her father and those who were left behind during the ordeal were beginning to filter back through her.  And then Astrides and Elios of Elysium were gone, both in memory and in sight and she was kneeled before her family, her arms trembling with fatigue from holding up the archangel and her face pale from sudden exhaustion.

"My God!" Queen Serenity screamed out, instantly spotting her daughter suddenly appearing out of nowhere.  "Rini!"  And then the queen was running toward her daughter in a desperate plight born of the essential need to protect and cherish.

Rini heard her father Darien's frantic, hoarse shout and as his gaze swiveled in her direction, Rini wanted nothing more than to try to reassure her parents that she was okay, but instead, she could do no more than to faint and collapse on top of Elios.

To be continued.


	11. Silk Desire

**Moonlight Horizon**

By Michelle Harris

aka Lady M. Harris

**Silk Desire**

Chapter 11

"Your divineness, the Prince Elijah of the Azure Seas wishes an audience with you," Elios' manservant and steward Anthony quietly announced into the Nirvana Chambers and adjacent chamber to the Evangelican Chambers. The large chamber, elegantly decorated, like the rest of the large, governing caverns was done in soft blues and golden creams. The immense caverns bespoke of a wealthy heritage and subtle power that surrounded the inhabitants on a daily basis. The surrounding delegating planet ambassadors had retired earlier from their many discussions regarding Cerus' quiet retreat of war. It had been nearly two weeks since the blessed event and things on Paradise were beginning to finally quiet down, except for one particular complicated matter.

The silent, towering figure in semi-formal, white robes stood in relaxed requiescence at the large porthole of the cavern wall. The porthole window overlooked the sun-setting horizon that was streaked with rays of red, purple and gold colors in the sky and skimmed the calm ocean and the small, glittering city below at the mouth of the mountain where the caverns perched. This silent figure of supreme well-being, of sinew authority, did not see the glorious setting sun nor did he acknowledge the splendor of the city below him. Instead, his mind, which should have been on the important matters of settling Cerus' position of neutrality of late, was on one particular—and annoying to say the least, yet beautiful beyond belief and at this moment, one missing princess.

Elios sighed, aggravated and knowing that his short-lived, but welcoming solitude would be interrupted once again. He waved silently at his manservant, who impeccably followed his master's order by quietly opening the double doors and letting the tall man on the other side into the chambers.

Elios nearly knew nothing of what had transpired after he had been stabbed by the late Aaron. He felt a brief sense of exasperation at the unknown, yet he knew what he felt was irrational since he had nearly died at the hands of Aaron. However, he could not put aside the feeling of the helplessness he felt at the fact that he had not protected Rini as he felt duty bound. Duty bound, my ass, his mind argued caustically. He was in love with the young princess warrior and that was all there was to it. There, he had said to himself. So be it. No more arguments that it was just ole simple lust. There had always been something more, more tangible than just tumbling around Hades, especially with someone like Rini.

He had heard the rest of the blasted story that was passed around the holdings from Angel Matthew once he had recovered from his injuries three days later. He had awoken in his spacious chambers, back in his caverns on Paradise Elysium, quite alone, mind you, without the benefit of the beautiful, Princess Rini dancing in attendance to him. He should have known, but had assumed that he would have ample time to explain the reasoning behind deceiving her into proclaiming herself as an Angelica to him. Really, his own selfish reasoning, if he was honest with himself. But how was he to know that he would be at death's door, his mind and body nearly gone and that he would be unconscious for nearly three days while the entire holding prepared the Angelicas for the Angelica Crowning Ceremony in less than three weeks time.

Rini, apparently, enraged at the dubious deception had all but up and disappeared on the planet. He knew that she had not returned to Earth, for both of her parents were still in attendance within his holdings, proclaiming quite mildly that once she over being upset with him that she would return to talk to him. But he was running out of time and even though Paradise was a large planet, the population was still quite small. He knew that without a doubt that someone was hiding her and doing a very good job of it, to his utter frustration.

Elios resisted the urge to grind his teeth at his lack of self-control where Rini was concerned. He had no need for the other two Angelicas, but tradition demanded at least three and three there were. Narcissi and Allergria, by birth had been proclaimed Angelicas by their families to the Archangel of Paradise.

Elios had not missed the simmering glances that Captain Tyrone and Narcissi exchanged between tart barbs thrown at each other during the past couple of harried days as the crowning drew closer. He had no doubt in his mind that Captain Tyrone would claim his lovely, sharp-tongued hostess. It was a relief to him, considering Elios knew that Narcissi still felt she was halfway in love with him since her birth. Which Elios suspected was more affection than love and that the guidance she received was from the influence of her family and upbringing. He had never attempted to draw her into a casual affair, for which he had more respect for her than to do so. Narcissi, always conservative and solicitous, respected him in the same aspect.

Allergria was another matter for which he could not merely ignore. Her family was not quite as wealthy as Narcissi's. As the youngest of four daughters, every penny it seemed, they scrimped and saved to prepare her for the possibility of acceptance of becoming the Angelica of the Archangel. He would have to procure a marriage contract for her to one of his more affluent ties with the other worlds and an inheritance when the crowning was over. Allergria was shy, but very lovely and Elios knew that he would have plenty of offers for her. Thoughts of settling Allergria, Narcissi and even Rini dispersed the moment Prince Elijah entered the chambers.

"It is quite good to see you looking as fit as fiddle, your divineness," Prince Elijah declared coming forward with his broad hand out. Of course, he had heard of Elios's near death experience.

"Thank you," Elios responded, his smile genuine. Both men shook hands. "As I assume the Oceans of Paradise are to your liking, your highness?"

"Indeed," Prince Elijah chuckled deeply, his emerald gaze alight with amusement. "A very accommodating alliance my father made with you. We Mer people protect your oceans and you protect us entirely. I do believe we are getting the better of the bargain especially since Paradise's oceans are expansive and plentiful. We can't thank you enough." Elijah bowed his handsome noble head toward the archangel.

"Your father stated that Earth's oceans have enough Princesses and Princes to govern it," Elios chuckled, knowing that as first born, Elijah had jumped at the opportunity of ruling such a vast and unexplored ocean as Paradise's and had no problem leaving his inheritance of the Pacific Ocean to his younger brothers and sisters. The exchange had benefited everyone in the process. Elios believed that Elijah made a fine and just ruler for Paradise's oceans, leading a conservative number of intelligent Mer people, strategically placed throughout the many deep crevices of Paradise's oceans.

Elijah was the spanking image of his father, extremely tall in height, his body muscular and supple, his skin weathered smoothly and bronzed deeply by Paradise's sun. Shocking long, silky chocolate hair that reached just above his trim waist was tied carelessly by a leather tong went fine with his willow-leaf green eyes. His face was strong and angular, the lips always curved in an easy manner.

"That is so true," Elijah answered, his smile sobering and turning serious. "As much as I'd like to say that this visit is only for pleasure," he paused remembering the shy beauty that had greeted him at the mouth of Elios' entry caverns, he wondered now. It was customary for the proclaimed Angelicas to serve official visitors every comfort and need while they stayed in Paradise Elysium.

Allergria was impossibly shy and yet, Elijah had been assailed by her beauty which had but taken away all of his thoughts, breath and had nearly made his heart pound within his chest. She had barely reached the top of his chest as she placed a warm, fluffy towel in his arms and suitable clothing for the caverns. Her lovely face was a delicious pink hue as she averted her face from his natural nudity; and all that silky blue-black hair had feathered a supple body in a cocoon of loveliness. Elijah had felt a sudden surge of piercing, white hot desire that normally was not an issue with his nudity, but this had nearly been inappropriate and embarrassing to the say the least. The towel had been a welcoming barrier.

"Actually, I have come for two reasons," Elijah started, at Elios brief nod of encouragement, he continued. "First, for my own selfish reason, you understand the nature of a Mer prince's natural selection of a lifemate?"

"Yes," Elios mused with comprehension and surprise, knowing that his own was almost identical in both situations. He had not been expecting a subject about mating to be brought up, "It's similar to my own from what I gather. Only your calling may cause the onslaught of death if your mate does not respond," Elios frowned, suddenly concerned. "What has happened?"

"My first choice of calling is not being responsive at all to my courtship," Elijah chuckled, somewhat discomforted by the archangel's unease. "As a matter of fact, she has but done nothing but spurred all of my attempts."

"May I ask—who's the lucky lady?" Elios asked hesitantly.

"Certainly—Tribal Chief Miriam of the Zion Tribes of the Arcadia Eastern Coast shores," Elijah sighed. It seemed to be a doomed attempt on his side, Elijah thought lately. Ever since he had first approached Miriam, she had done nothing more than to turn down every attempt he had made of courtship toward the gorgeous red-head. But lately, it seemed as though her patience with him had worn thin and she now blatantly and rudely began ignoring him every time he appeared at sunset when her and tribe arrived at the fishing holes to pull in the fishing nets for the evenings catch.

At first, Elios could do no more than widen his eyes in shock, and then sputters of chuckles erupted against his will. Elios started to laugh out loud when Elijah, looking quite dumb-founded, stared at him as if he knew something of significance had been lost on him. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't believe that the lady in question will ever return your favor."

"I am quite at a loss," Elijah stated, "Am I not the question of good health? Of sight, body and mind?" His arms went out imploring, which only made Elios whoop with laughter. "You are making fun of me! It is not your life on the line!"

"You are right in that matter," Elios quieted, a grin spread wide on his face, he had needed that laugh. "But it can be remedied, I'm sure. You see, Miriam favors only women, my young man. Your courtship has been for naught. It is no wonder that she finds your persistence annoying at this point."

"Good Lord!" Elijah exclaimed, his face red, stupefied, and then it was Elijah's turn to burst out in laughter. Something akin to relief and horror over his obvious mistake went through him. How he had missed the blaringly obvious signs, he thought with resounding disbelief. They had been there all along. "Then you will understand that my second reason for coming here was to let you know that your Princess Rini has been found. And that she has been spending all of her time with no other than our Miriam."

"You found Rini?" Elios' chuckles abruptly stopped. His body went rigid with elation.

"Yes, she's been staying with the Zion tribes since her disappearance. She is there every evening, pulling in the fishing nets with Miriam and her people. Deep-sea diving with the natives and skinny-dipping along with the best. Her tan is quite golden, I assure you," Elijah continued with a grin. "Now that I understand Miriam's attitude," he began, organizing his thoughts and his new proposal that he was fast putting together in his mind. He noted Elios' silence, understanding that the other was still adjusting to the news of Princess Rini's whereabouts.

"I have proposal for you," Elijah started, his features now serious.

"Go on," more surprises, Elios nodded his head once again.

"It is about your Angelica Allergria," Elijah began carefully, his gaze searching, probing the other, gauging for a reaction to his words. When the archangel stood silent, his face calm and seemingly emotionless, Elijah plunged on, not believing his own words, "I will take Allergria to be my bride in Miriam's stead."

"This is, of course, unexpected," Elios started, stunned. Even he, could not have found a better solution for his dilemma with Allergria, and here it was before him—Prince Elijah. When had the Mer prince met Allergria, Elios pondered thoughtfully? Just now, before Elijah greeted him? Can a person become infatuated that quickly, he mused? "But it is a better solution to my problems of late," Elios added, his arms folding in a stance of great thought.

"A better solution," Elijah echoed, not quite sure of Elios' predicament. He was still stunned by the bargain he had just made and wondered briefly if the archangel thought him mad for his suggestion. But if he was right, as was the rumors, that the archangel had already picked his Angelica and she was the missing Princess Rini. Who was reportedly tricked into bargaining herself as an Angelica—all by the hands of the archangel himself. However, no one dared to approach the archangel on the topic, especially since the princess had been beside herself in a fury over the apparent deception. "A better solution to what, may I ask?"

"As you probably have already guessed, my friend," Elios grinned sarcastically, "I already have an Angelica picked out--Princess Rini, that is, if she will have me now," he confirmed Elijah's thoughts with a dry laugh, "and I find myself in a predicament with Allergria. Narcissi can fend for her self as you well know; she comes from a very wealthy and influential family. But that is not the case with Allergria. She is a sweet young lady and her family is very honorable despite their lack of financial backing."

Elijah nodded solemnly, understanding, but elated with the fact that the archangel was edging in his favor.

"However, I have one condition before I will release her to your hands," Elios reasoned.

"And what may that be," Elijah started, his brows lifting in a frown.

"Paradise's crowning requires three Angelicas, as selfish as that sounds, even to me. Allergria must be present at the time of the crowning as a potential Angelica," Elios answered, although he did not particular care for that aspect, especially since he already knew who he would pick. It did not make sense to him or to hold Allergria and her family in the bargain.

"I understand," Elijah nodded his head absently, not quite sure how he would present himself afterward as a potential suitor.

"No, you do not," Elios stated mysteriously. "At the time of my declaration of Princess Rini," and he hoped that she would be present at the crowning, as a matter of fact, he was going to make sure that she was there, "I would ask that you declare yourself as a suitor to Allergria. I do not want her family to be disappointed or to cause her dishonor."

"Aaah even better," Elijah grinned, liking the archangel's approach. "Then we have a bargain, your divineness." Now, he just had to figure out how he was going to do that. It might help that he was staying awhile in the caverns.

Both men clasped hands once more in agreement, their pact made true by the handshake.

"I am now to assume you have business to take care of?" Elijah ventured, smiling smugly, knowing full well where Elios was heading.

"If you will accept my humble apologies for not entertaining you," Elios bowed graciously to his guest with a sardonic smile alighting his lips, his guest in return, did the same. "But I feel an urgent need to thrash a certain exasperating princess at the moment."

Elijah let out a loud chortle.

"Please, make yourself at home while I am gone," Elios grinned, turning away and striding for the doors. "Allergria is at your disposal. She will attend to your every need while you are here at the palace," Elios added, his eyes crinkling upwards in slyness and amusement. "Although, I daresay, you've already thought of that. I wish you luck, for underneath all that shyness beats the heart of a tigress."

At that last statement, Elijah shook his head, his eye alight with mirth, his chuckles echoing throughout the chambers long after Elios' exit.

"Rini, I don't think that's a good idea," Miriam stated thoughtfully as she stared toward the ocean horizon. It was going to be a spectacular sunset, that's for sure. The breeze was balmy and warm, a perfect night for singing around the fire or cuddling with a loved one. The ocean was calm enough and it wasn't quite dark as of yet.

"Alright, just this one time," Rini hung back on the beach, staring back at the tall caverns by the beach. She had wanted to take a dip in the warm waters. But Miriam knew the waters better than her and she had heard how dangerous the incoming tide could be at this time.

Tall cliffs hung in the background, highlighting the area majestically behind the caverns. Nearer to the surface of where the caverns meet with the cliffs, the salty waters could lap gently at the rocks or pound them fiercely in a storm. Near the tops of the cliffs an unusual formation of huge, clam-like shell structures made of durable, water-repelling skins of dark and light beige hues dotted the edge of the cliffs. Most of the structures were tightly knitted together of complicated, web-like networks, while the larger structures were not so quite close to one another and were made of finer, tougher, yet more elegant materials. All structures were intricately, interconnected by bridges of tightly, woven ropes and treated planks to protect them against the salt-water atmosphere and the trade winds. Because it was a calm and balmy evening, most of the structures appeared warm and inviting. Golden lights were lit within most of the structures and an occasional or two, shadowy form was seen moving to and from within the interior walls.

"She's right, you know," Jenne, Miriam's youngest apprentice jeweler stated, never looking up from her current find on the beach they were standing on. She examined the discolored, lavender rock in her hand, carefully turning it this way and that way in her palms, her face in a constant deep study. "We'll need to head back to the boats, anyways."

"Of course," Miriam agreed noticing the guards that hung back. Soon, they would start to get ansey, she knew. But they were trained that way and they were trained well. They knew the water patterns just as well as her.

It had been wonderful staying with the Zion tribes, Rini summarized silently. It almost seemed unreal, except for the tiring practice of singing she had to endure every early morning in preparation for the Angelica Crowning.

After leaving Elysium in complete blinding rage at Elios' deception, Rini had transformed into Super Sailor Moon and flown around the planet, her anger blinding her to all reason. Of course, she had made sure that Elios was recovering safely, before she headed out, not sure of her own feelings for the angel or of his deception. After wandering for hours in the air, she grew tired and made the mistake of landing on the Sacred Zion Beach. The current beach they were standing on. It was heavily guarded for its precious gems, the lavender diamonds. Other diamonds were also produced by the beach such as pink, blue and green diamonds, but its lavender diamonds were the most precious to the tribes. It was their source of wealth. Most of the other tribes in Paradise could farm, but since the Zion tribes lived in cliffs their only alternative had been fishing and mining.

Rini was caught unguarded and bounded. She was forced to explain her presence on their forbidden beach and then released into custody to their tribal leader Miriam, a fierce and independent leader of the Zion tribes. Fortunately for Rini, Miriam was amused by the current scuffle between the Archangel Elios and the Earth and Moon Princess Rini. News traveled fast on a small, populated planet and the Zions, though quite isolated by choice, was not completely unaware of current events. The planet Paradise was deeply indebted to the princess for saving their protector's life and Miriam thought it more appropriate to offer her assistance while the princess sorted out her feelings for the archangel.

And so, during the past month, Rini was completely absorbed into the Zion tribal community. Learning to swim like an expert, fish, dive with the natives and to learn their customs as if it were part of her own. In return, Rini opened up to their fierce leader about her feeling for Elios. It didn't take long for Rini to realize that she was completely and hopelessly in love with the archangel. However, it frustrated her that it had seemed as if he used her in order for them to be released from the cycle.

"It seems to me, that you must be honest with yourself," Miriam had commented as they sat on the warm beach, warming themselves before the sun disappeared behind the tall, ragged mountains and the night claimed its rightful place in the deepening sky.

Jenne usually accompanied them on their journey through the forbidden beach to the caverns. Her glasses were forever falling off her pert nose as she tucked a large, uncut gem into her pocket for her collection to be made back at the dome home. Jenne had already started the necklace and the hip bracelet that would attach to Rini's native skirt for her crowning ceremony. Miriam had commissioned the work for Jenne to start, although Rini had no idea that Miriam planned to gift the gems to her to wear during the Angelica Crowning Ceremony.

"Are you in love with Elios? You must ask yourself that," Miriam started.

Rini sighed softly, "I can no longer deny it. I don't even want to deny it any longer."

"So what is the problem?" Miriam gently prodded.

"He used me!" Rini spat back, suddenly, her red gaze fusing with heat.

"Seems to me, that the archangel—and he is virtuous to the people, would not do something that deceitful unless he had an ulterior motive to your heart," Miriam continued to chuckled. "You must have paved him a difficult path to your heart."

Rini gaped in surprise. Had she? Was it that guarded, she asked herself. No, she was just too headstrong, that was the problem. It wasn't like she didn't have a heart to give. Hers was quite intact, she acknowledged to herself briefly, waiting for the right man to come along and to show her what love was really about. Yet, here she was moaning and whining that he had deceived her—and he had, mind you, but was it really that evil? Heck, they were no longer trapped on Hades. Was it enough to turn away a chance at happiness? The same kind of deep and meaningful type of love that could stand the test of time and still endure after centuries of being apart, the same kind of love that her mother and father shared.

She had gotten up and walked slowly to the waters, letting its warmth seep into her skin and gently lap at her ankles. She looked back at Miriam who still wore that same, sardonic smirk on her face, the smirk died into an exasperated sigh as Miriam spotted the young prince of the waters suddenly come into view.

"Go to the Angelica Crowning, show him how much you love him," Miriam stated. "The deception makes no difference any more; it was obvious what he was doing. It is quite flattering, if you ask me! You are a beautiful woman and he is a beautiful man, you will make beautiful babies!" Miriam laughed, waving her hand at her.

Rini had smiled, her heart suddenly lifting in spirit. She untied the sarong, uncaring of the young prince who stood in annoying attendance to Miriam or the guards that stood watch at the entrance of the beach. They were used to nudity. She let it float into the ocean water and waded in deeper until the waters lovingly caressed her skin. She thought of Elios' large and manly hands sinuously moving over her own skin and she sighed once again, now impatient for the crowning day to arrive.

"But you must pass the test," Miriam warned her, stopping Rini in her tracks into the deeper water.

"You mean the singing contest," Rini stated blandly, a slight ironic twist on her lips. She started back out of the warm waters.

Miriam laughed.

"I see that you have heard of it," Miriam nodded, her green eyes dancing merrily.

"Of course, I've heard of it—it's all the servants could talk of while I was fuming in my room," Rini added dryly.

"You agree to practice? You know that we have little more than two weeks? How is your voice, by the way?" Miriam fired at her.

"I don't know, okay, I guess," Rini shrugged her shoulders.

"Good lord," Miriam muttered under her breath, "come then, to the caverns. I must know for myself if you can even hold a tune," she stated more to herself as she pulled Rini out of the waters.

"I can hold a tune!" Rini stated indigently, her cheeks flaming with heat.

"We will see about that!" Miriam barked with teasing laughter.

"What's the big deal about my voice anyhow, other than passing the singing contest," Rini asked, wanting to know the reasons. Even at Elios' home, all the residents had made a big fuss about her practicing for the Angelica Crowning and that she should be prepared to represent the Earth and the Moon. She understood representing her planet but the singing part was a bit overboard to her. But then who was she to change tradition especially since the moon traditions were steep with royal customs.

"It's not whether or not you have the greatest voice in world to sing with the angels—although that would certainly raise your earthly status higher with the angels if you did have an angelic voice—but that may not be the case with you," Miriam added quickly as Rini opened her mouth to object. "Your voice should at least be able to hold a tune so that you can be eventually trained to sing with the angels."

"I have to sing with the angels?" Rini echoed. "How many times do I have to do that?" She asked with dread.

"Every evening, as Elios normally leads the evening ballads at sunset," Miriam grinned at Rini's dismayed countenance.

"And at the Angelica Crowning—how many times then?"

"Each Angelica is given the chance to compete for Elios' favor with an entry song and then the chosen Angelica must perform the joining duet with Elios during the mating ceremony—that's if he chooses you. Which I have no doubt that he will, considering he's made it quite clear that he duped you into announcing your candidacy for an Angelica spot," Miriam explained as she watched Rini's face turn from dismay to incredibility.

"What mating ceremony?" Rini squeaked, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"You and Elios will mate during the duet," Miriam laughed out right at Rini's red face.

"There's no way in hell I'm going to do it front of God knows how many—!" Rini began, her voice sounding uncharacteristically shrilly.

Miriam laid a reassuring arm on her shoulders, meaning to calm her. "You won't have to perform in front of audience. No one will be able to see the two of you in the air."

"In the air? Oh that makes it even better," Rini gritted her teeth as Miriam began leading them towards the caverns.

"I don't think I've presented the picture very well to you, but it's really quite a short and sweet ceremony for the rest of us and quite beautiful for the pair—or so I've heard. But leave it up to me to butcher the entire event," Miriam tried to explain in simpler terms. Perhaps she shouldn't have given Rini so many details about the ceremony and let her friend find out on her own. But she wanted Rini to be prepared to know the duet song and quite frankly, she wanted Rini to sing a Zion entry song to represent her little tribe to Paradise.

"You're lagging," Miriam stated before her, bringing Rini back to their present state.

"You're right as usual, your leadership," Rini teased, her hips swaying gently to their slow pace back towards where the guards stood watching them.

Jenne chuckled, this time her face was forward, her gaze trained on one particular guard. Pink hue blossomed on her cheeks. Tuan was nearly ten years older than her, tall-broad shouldered, deeply tanned and handsome, but he was unusually sweet to her. Even though she knew that he had all the young ladies aflutter for him. Erika, from their tribe, was the best looking girl in their age group and Jenne knew she didn't stand a chance with Tuan. Erika had practically bragged about her and Tuan's last date.

"And for once, our Jenne girl's attention is elsewhere other than on a gem," Miriam surmised, never missing a thing. She would need to harness Tuan's sweetness on Jenne into something more meaningful for the young apprentice. Since her innocent crush blossomed into full bloom love on the young man, Jenne's jewel cutting techniques had turned exquisitely impossible to copy by other cutters in the industry, commanding an unusually high price for their stones on the market. "A becoming jewel, perhaps," she cajoled lightly.

"You never miss anything, Miriam," Jenne smiled shyly and blushing at the same time, but her tone was serious.

"I try not to, my pet," Miriam answered easily. She was looking forward to going home, where Nilesh would have dinner and a warm fire by the hearth ready for her.

Rini smiled softly, enjoying their light banter.

There was a loud swoosh above the walking party. Rini felt the unexpected rush of gusty winds as her hair lifted around her face. Surprised, the guards shouted a warning at them but it was already too late. Before she knew what was happening, Rini was swept up like a rabbit caught off guard in open territory. Steel bands surrounded her arms in a tight vise that seemed invincible. She dangled precariously in the air before her captor righted her in his arms as she screeched loudly in fright.

A large palm clamped tightly over her mouth, abruptly stopping her scream in mid-stream. Her eyes bugged out in fright and then turned into seething anger as she finally realized who held her in his arms. Elios! How like him to be so melodramatic, so much larger than life!

Before she knew what was happening, she found herself bodily righted into one of the structures on the cliff. The trip had been so fast and furious that she nearly lost her balance. A quick glance around the open structure and one of the chambers, with its rich, folding velvety materials, heavy rugs made of silk wool and opulent furniture could only belong to Miriam. Miriam owned the majority of the larger structures away from the tight, networked structures that dotted the main area of the two, dividing cliffs of the Zion shores.

"My God Rini," Elios said, rubbing his ear in the process as he held her one arm length away from him, to keep her from falling in her dazed state, "you could send a man to his death with those lungs of yours! What the hell---!"

"Let go of me!" Rini struggled against the might of his strong-hold. How could she have forgotten how magnificent he was? Lordy, but he took her breath away as she tried to glare up into his chiseled face that was obviously hand-picked and made from the Gods. He stood a hair-breath from her, his scent intensifying her senses and overwhelming her with his presence.

"Not on your life! And where the hell are your clothes?" He exploded, his hot blue gaze burning as they swiftly flew over her half-naked figure.

Immediately the answer came to him. "Miriam!" He should have known. Jesus, when Prince Elijah had stated that Rini had been running around naked with the natives, he hadn't been kidding. For now he'd allow Miriam this indiscretion, considering he particularly liked Rini the way she looked right now—but he'd like it even better if she was in his bed instead of carousing around the shores of Zion showing off that luscious body of hers to any males within the vicinity.

Need slammed into him, hard and burning painfully within him, but he took a deep breath, fought and won, finally appreciating the golden tan that now graced her supple body. Christ, how long had it been since he touched her? It had been way too long, trying to control the heat that was flaring swift and sharp, his mind tried to shift to anger, but even that was a futile battle.

His arms tightened around her waist, the power emanating from him, intimidating and dangerous all at once, as he slowly and deliberately began pulling her closer to him. His gaze narrowed into sharp pinpoints of blazing, blue ice; there was just enough steely heat in those blazing pupils to make her rethink her situation with care. "Do you realize the amount of trouble I've went through just to find you?"

"Obviously, it was not nearly enough as you are here in front of me!" She gasped out in indignation, carelessly disregarding her thoughts of earlier. He could have went to Earth and back as far as she was concerned. How dare he stand there looking like _she_ was the one who was owed an explanation!

"Oh really?" He snapped back, his lips tightening as it began to ride against reason. "Did you honestly believe that after what happened that I wouldn't try to explain you the reason behind my actions?" He glared back at her, then, "but it just so happened that I didn't plan on being stabbed or to go knocking at death's door either."

"You did it on purpose!" She accused, ignoring his logic, her anger beginning to slip away as she found herself suddenly held tightly against the hard length of his body. She couldn't think when he held her this way, by God but it wasn't fair how he could play her this way. She tried to concentrate on her anger, but found herself instead staring back at the ironic slant of his lips. She stared at his mouth, caught by the chiseled perfection of it. Her hear started thumping painfully against her ribcage. A ragged breath escaped from her, betraying her, and immediately Elios' eyes narrowed with comprehension and wariness. She silently cursed her weakness.

"So I did," Elios admitted slowly to her, his tone at once rough and silky and low, "what are you going to do about it, Rini?" He prompted at her softly, his unblinking gaze steady and compelling.

Rini stared up into his face silently, unable to form any sort of logical answer to his question. His face was too close to hers, his body urgent and calling to hers, his lips too tantalizing that she couldn't help the quick lick at the corner of her lips in anticipation and nervousness. The gesture did not go unnoticed by the man holding her tightly in his embrace as his gaze hungrily followed the movement.

"Aaaah Rini," Elios growled low and deep in his throat as he lowered his golden head toward her, closing the gap between them. He slanted his mouth over hers, hot and demanding, harshly sensual in a way that was meant to punish her and reward her all at once. He explored every inch of her mouth with complete authority, building the heat. She meet his provocative kiss with a passion as great as his, the back of her heels lifting in anticipation, her arms winding around his shoulders to deepen their kiss; wanting nothing more than to mold herself against his body.

Rini moaned, her breath coming in small, little rushes against his mouth. A wave of heat heralded a storm of fire, through her, through him. On their own accord, Rini's hands shoved at his vest, pushing them from his wide shoulders wanting to feel his chest against her own wildly beating heart.

"Not here," Elios groaned as he tore his mouth away from hers.

Rini's head slowly came up, still reeling from his intoxicating kiss, confusion evident in her slumberous, ruby gaze. "Not here? Then how about here?" With all her strength Rini pulled Elios unceremoniously on top of her as they precariously fell back. They landed in a heap of soft cushions and pillows made of silk and velvet.

Elios's muscles contracted, clenched. His teeth came together and he closed his eyes against the demands of his body. She was hot silk and white lightning. Fire skimming over his chest, it spread across his flat belly, lower still, to torment him with a painful, unfulfilled promise of release.

Rini's body moved restlessly against his, seeking a closer bond, wanting the feel of skin to skin without the confines of clothes that hampered them. Not knowing or understanding the torment she made him endure, but only knowing that this moment and time, felt right between them. Her natural inhibitions were being pushed aside, her humanity swept away on a tide of rising passion. Her blood, her body raged with fire, cried out to his, and only his. What she wanted, he wanted, what she needed, he needed.

Her tongue caressed his pulse at his neck, swirling lightly over his muscles, then stroking lower over his highly sensitive nipple. He threw back his head and groaned aloud. A fine sheen of sweat exploded over his body, and his body swelled in urgent demand, his pants far too tight, his body straining against hers to break free. His very blood pulsated with waves of urgency, like molten volcano ready to erupt. His arms tightened possessively as he bent over to brush his mouth over her silky hair, her closed eyelids, her temples. And then he was gasping for breath, a strangled sound somewhere between a moan and hoarse cry escaping as her fingertips stroked over his tightly-clenched, flat belly and down even lower, over that throbbing part of him that was desperate for relief, desperate for their joining.

Her hand moved over the constriction of cloth, her mind lost to the fiery needs of her own body, knowing instinctively exactly what he needed, what she so desperately wanted since their separation. His need was hers. Her hand freed him from the tightness of his trousers. She felt him shudder as her fingers wrapped around the thick length of him, lovingly stroking and caressing the warm, hard velvety shaft.

Jackhammers beat at his skull, somewhere, something was reminding him that he had to stop, but the red haze of desire thundered at him as his body arched against Rini's silky caresses, testing his limits, pushing him beyond the boundaries that he had set.

"We must stop," he groaned hoarsely and whispered all at once, ensnaring her further in his dark spell of desire. Rini became aware of what she was doing. It had been like some erotic dream, realizing her own uninhabited behavior that even now, she did not want to stop. He did not even bother to remove his sprawled hands over the satin of her breasts, the long fingers lazily tantalizing a hard peak.

"Oh my god, what you must think of me," unable to believe how wanton, how bold she had acted. Elios shook his head, a strained smile on his face. She attempted to pull out of his arms, but he only tightened his hold on her.

"Be calm, love," everything in him wanted to bury himself solidly into her and be damned with the Angelica Crowning tomorrow. He wanted the mating ritual done now and to make her his own, claiming her as rightfully his and to put him out of this living hell. He thought about how tight and silky she had felt around him when they were in Hades; his body reacted instinctively, thrusting forward against her soft stomach as he groaned in his own torture.

"The funny thing is that I don't want to stop!" She admitted, fighting her own needs and desires, not wanting to move from their positions. But she stayed still, not wanting to further enflame him.

"Neither do I," he answered a bit more ragged than he would have liked, trying to his regulate breathing. "But I only came with the intention to tease you tonight," he admitted slowly, carefully.

"What?" She exclaimed and tried to come up out of his arms, but he held her tightly within his embrace. "Tease me? Well, you most certainly accomplished your goal!" She snapped, trying to avoid staring at his masculine body while he, on the other hand, insolently devoured her exposed breasts with such fire in those damnable eyes that she felt the heat creep back up into her face. He lay there hard and thick, no apologies mind you, throbbing insistently against her trembling stomach.

"Yes, I did, didn't I," he teased tenderly, the fire still raging in him, "but I never intended to go this far," he added sinfully as his mouth stroked lazily over a puckered nipple.

"Let me up, Elios," she moaned, as his hot mouth beckoned and taunted. His lips then brushed over hers slowly, and her heart stopped. His tongue traced over the full lower lip, teasing an opening to sweep inside the silken interior. Her heart began pound again. There was only feeling, a curious shifting of the ground below them, a slow spinning that kept her off balance. It was Elios who reluctantly lifted his head again. His eyes were hot, blue molten roaming over her face possessively.

"We will finish this tomorrow, Rini," he commanded, softly, his hand stroking the tumble of her silken hair.

"Don't sound so arrogant about it," Rini blazed at him, shoving him out of her arms and standing uncertainly, because for once, she knew that she couldn't deny him in this. He was so damn lethal, that her heart thundered at the sight him, and she had no control over her body where he was concerned that it scared the living mess out of her. But she knew that whatever this Angelica Crowning entailed, she would be there, claiming her right for him, because for some reason or another she knew it, right there, deep within her, that her destiny was standing before like a glorious, golden god, all subtle power and all hers to claim as her own.

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Lady M. Harris


End file.
